Central Florida Fires Calmed Down Overnight, Palm Beach County Witness Says
Posted on: Wednesday, 14 May 2008, 12:00 CDT
By Macollvie Jean-Francois and Jero, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
May 14--The brush fires that have bedeviled firefighters in Brevard County quieted down overnight, a Palm Beach County firefighter who went up there to help said today.
That prompted the reopening of a section of Interstate 95 in Brevard and Indian River counties at about 6 a.m. today, the Florida Highway Patrol said.
"But we already have gusts of 9 to 12 [mph] and they may go up to 17 so we're expecting a busy day," said Palm Beach County Fire-Rescue District Chief Don Bouse, who was among 20 firefighters sent there from his county Monday.
Broward County is prepared to send a team of five engines and about 20 people to Central Florida if they're needed, Plantation Fire spokesman Joel Gordon said today.
"In a couple days, when they start to wear out, we may see a rotating of shifts," Broward Sheriff's Fire Rescue spokesman Mike Jachles said.
Without rain, battling the rampant Brevard blazes can be tough, firefighters said.
And there is none in sight, according to the National Weather Service in Melbourne.
"A dry pattern continues across Central Florida," meteorologist. John Pendergrast said. "Unfortunately, there's no real change in the pattern at least for the next five to seven days."
Bouse said the Palm Beach County firefighters were deployed within two hours notice.
If the fires continue, they'll be relieved by other Palm Beach County firefighters Friday.
Much of the state, including parts of Broward and Palm Beach counties, remained under a "red flag alert" advisory, according to weather service meteorologist Joel Rothfuss.
"The risk has diminished because the relative humidities have gone up, but we still have very dry brush conditions due to the lack of rainfall over the past several weeks," Rothfuss said. "The interior and the west still have a high fire-danger probability."
No brush fires were reported in Broward County as of Tuesday evening.
In Palm Beach, fire continued burning across 8,600 acres of Lake Okeechobee's southwestern edge. That fire may have been started by arsonists, state forestry officials said.
The Brevard County fires there have scorched about 10,000 acres, or 6 square miles, in Palm Bay and neighboring Malabar, damaged more than 170 homes, caused an estimated $10 million in damage and prompted authorities to shut down two areas on Interstate 95 totaling 38 miles.
Gov. Charlie Crist on Tuesday toured the area. Federal officials have authorized funding to reimburse the state's firefighting costs in Brevard.
By Macollvie Jean-Francois and Jerome Burdi. Staff Writers Sallie James and Dianna Cahn contributed to this report. Information from The Orlando Sentinel and The Associated Press was also used.
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Source: South Florida Sun-Sentinel
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