Wildfires cause road closures around Central Florida

Wildfires burning across Central Florida have forced hundreds from their homes this morning and prompted officials to close several roads.Two fires burning in Cocoa Beach have been contained, according to the Division of Forestry. A fire in Malabar continues to burn and has grown to 2,100 acres and continues to threaten homes.Wildfires wreaked havoc in Central Florida on Sunday, shutting down Interstate 95 and other major roads, forcing the evacuation of hundreds of coastal residents and keeping firefighters, deputies, relief workers and state troopers on alert throughout the night.More of the same is expected today, as high winds, dry conditions and record-high temperatures fuel the blazes in Volusia and Brevard counties.

Winds of up to 40 mph stoked the fires that burned nearly 3,000 acres in the two counties, forcing authorities to evacuate at least 400 homes in Cocoa, Palm Bay and Daytona Beach, where residents had little time to pack up important belongings and flee. Shelters were opened in both counties."It's pretty scary," said Joan Good, as she waited Sunday afternoon to be told if she needed to leave her home on Friday Road in Cocoa. About 200 homes near Good were evacuated because of a 100-plus-acre fire that shut down State Road 524 between Cox and Friday roads."I have all my stuff packed up and I'm ready to go, but I'm not going to go unless they tell me to because I have my two dogs and I don't know where to go. Looking out my window, I can see smoke and it's all charred. We're in a wooded, residential area, so it's not a good area to have a fire in."The fires started in the early afternoon and grew worse throughout the night as more homes were evacuated and officials shut down more roads.A roughly 30-mile stretch of Interstate 95 from Indian River County to Melbourne remained closed Sunday night and officials with the Florida Highway Patrol did not know when the road would reopen. U.S. Highway 1 from Malabar Road to the Indian River County line also was shut down.In Volusia County, LPGA Boulevard was closed between I-95 and U.S. Highway 92 by a fire that had consumed more than 600 acres Sunday night. About 400 homes in the Bayberry Lakes and LPGA subdivisions were evacuated.It was unclear when -- or if -- the roads would be opened this morning. And even if they were, authorities warned motorists to use caution because visibility will be limited by smoke.While fire threatened hundreds of homes, there were no reports of widespread damage. At least one home and one commercial building in Brevard County were damaged.In Melbourne, temperatures reached a record high of 95 degrees on Sunday. Daytona Beach set a record Saturday with a high of 94. Above-normal temperatures, coupled with low humidity and gusting winds caused the wildfires to spread quickly.John Pendergrast, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Melbourne, said winds won't be as strong today, but the Weather Service has issued a red flag alert for the Space Coast and much of east Central Florida today.Jim Karels, assistant director of the Florida Division of Forestry in Tallahassee, said despite unexpected rains in March and part of April, normally the state's dry season, Florida's two-year drought has begun to reassert itself. He said he's ordered crews to brace for a highly active fire season during the next four to six weeks.The ground and highly flammable brush is becoming dryer every day the region goes without rainfall, Pendergrast said."All of that comes into play in these wildfires," he said. "You get these critical weather conditions and you couple that with these very dry fuels and it all came together today with these wildfires."Although the weather conditions helped spread Sunday's fires, officials in Palm Bay said a series of brush fires that started in that city on Sunday were suspicious. The fires began at about 1:37 p.m. and residents living on streets east of St. Andre Boulevard were evacuated Sunday night.Officials are offering a $5,000 reward for information about the fires and the Red Cross set up a relief station at Bayside High School to assist evacuees.Sunday's fires taxed the resources of area agencies. The Orlando district of the Division of Forestry said Sunday night that virtually all of their crews were out fighting fires in Brevard County. In Volusia County, an estimated 300 firefighters were battling the blaze near LPGA Boulevard.