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Fire in Brevard, Volusia forces I-95 closure; 1,000 evacuated

By TAMARA LUSH
Published May 9, 2006

NEW SMYRNA BEACH - A 12-mile stretch of Interstate 95 was shut down and more than 1,000 people were evacuated from their homes after a brush fire raged out of control for two days in Brevard and Volusia counties.

By Monday evening, fire officials said they were starting to contain the blaze, which damaged three homes and charred 1,320 acres. The fire started late last week west of I-95. On Sunday, burning embers carried by a stiff wind caused the fire to jump the interstate and set another forest ablaze.

On Sunday, smoke from the blaze in Brevard was blamed in the deaths of two motorists in a crash on I-95. On Monday, Broward County officials said two motorists were killed on a smoky stretch of U.S. 27. In Palm Beach, 19 bus passengers were injured in another smoke-related accident Monday.

About 900 homes east of I-95 in Volusia were evacuated Sunday; more than 70 residents stayed in a temporary Red Cross shelter. By Monday afternoon, residents were allowed to return home.

The evacuations reminded folks of hurricane season. One New Smyrna Beach resident, Mike Martin, said that he was more frightened by the closeness of the black smoke and red flames than the wind and rain of any hurricane.

"With hurricanes, you have warning," said Martin, 59. "With fires, man, they just start creating their own momentum, and they get scary fast."

More than 2,200 wildfires have burned at least 44,000 acres in Florida since Jan. 1, according to the state Division of Forestry. On Monday, the smell of smoke and a gray haze were evident from eastern Hillsborough County to downtown Orlando and all the way to the Atlantic Ocean in New Smyrna Beach.

The New Smyrna blaze may be among the year's costliest. Two homes were heavily damaged and a third was destroyed.

James Cooper lived in the home that burned to the ground. The 45-year-old mechanic lost not only his furniture, clothes and photos but also two Harley Davidsons and a 1962 Mercedes.

"I didn't think the house was going to burn," he said with a sigh. Cooper said he is now homeless.

The fire burned within 20 feet of the back yards of many homes in the Sugar Mill subdivision, officials said. On Monday afternoon, the homes were largely out of danger, although residents of 20 homes were not allowed to return because the electricity was still shut off.

According to Don Snell, the fire marshal for New Smyrna Beach, the blaze was about 70 percent under control as of 5 p.m. Monday. State and local firefighters worked around the clock with bulldozers to keep the fire within a perimeter, he said.

The success of extinguishing the fire will depend on one thing: the weather.

At 7:30 p.m., a heavy rain began to fall.

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report. Tamara Lush can be reached at 727-893-8612 or at lush@sptimes.com.

[Last modified May 9, 2006, 07:57:25]