Two interstates closed while crews battle fires

The dry conditions keep firefighters busy. There have been more than 3,000 wildfires in the state this year.

By Compiled from staff, wire reports

© St. Petersburg Times, published May 25, 2000

Wildfires temporarily closed sections of two interstate highways in Florida on Wednesday, disrupting traffic but causing little damage.

Dense smoke from a 175-acre fire shut down 18 miles of Interstate 95 in Brevard County for much of the afternoon. Though the fire in the Palm Bay-Malabar area reduced visibility, no homes or structures were in immediate danger.

Just north of the Manatee River, firefighters took no chances and intermittently halted lunch-hour Interstate 75 traffic to contain a small blaze that hopped over the highway and settled in the median.

A fire fueled by dry brush and wind burned more than 100 acres Wednesday afternoon in southern Hillsborough County between Sun City Center and Wimauma. It did not damage any structures.

"When you're good, those things don't happen," said Hillsborough County Fire Rescue Capt. Ray Yeakley. "Seriously, though, with things as dry as they are, we concentrated first on setting up a perimeter around the mobile homes in the area, and then tried to go in and fight the fire."

Yeakley said the mobile homes were unoccupied and most likely provide housing for migrant farm workers. Around 30 firefighters fought the fire. They had it under control in about two hours.

The day before, investigators arrested an Okaloosa County man suspected of setting 23 fires in the western Panhandle.

Also on Tuesday, Polk County commissioners voted unanimously to ban fireworks -- just before the Memorial Day holiday -- until further notice. Violations carry a fine of up to $500 and up to 60 days in jail.

Of the other counties in west central Florida, the state's driest area, only Pasco has an outright ban. The emergency outdoor burning and fireworks ban enacted last month carries a penalty similar to Polk's.

An emergency drought ordinance adopted in March for unincorporated Hernando County prohibits setting off fireworks without permission from state or local fire authorities.

Gov. Jeb Bush ordered a ban on outdoor burning, except for backyard grilling. He stopped short of banning fireworks.

Investigators weren't sure what started the Brevard fire. Two Florida Division of Forestry helicopters were being used to put out the blaze, according to Orlando Dominguez, a spokesman for the Brevard County Fire Department.

Other fires kept parts of central Florida in a smoky haze.

Firefighters still were working on a 419-acre fire near Clermont that was contained on Tuesday. A second Lake County fire that started burning six weeks ago broke its fire line and spread across 100 acres.

Two fires in Osceola County were almost contained. No homes were threatened.

Firefighters also fought a 15-acre fire in Hamilton County along the Georgia border.

In southwest Florida, the Charlotte County Fire Department responded to a 10-acre brush fire.

In the Panhandle area, Lenny Yates, 45, of Holt, was charged with 23 counts of arson.

Authorities charge he set fires in Okaloosa and Santa Rosa counties during the past six months.

Yates was arrested Tuesday night after investigators found incendiary devices in his car. He had been under surveillance by officers in the Office of Agricultural Law Enforcement as an arson suspect.

Yates became the 57th person charged in Florida since January with setting wildfires. More than 3,000 wildfires have burned more than 93,000 acres since the beginning of the year. Officials believe about a quarter of those fires were set by arsonists.

-- Staff writers Angela Moore and Robin Mitchell contributed to this report. Information from the Lakeland Ledger and Sarasota Herald-Tribune also was used.

© St. Petersburg Times. All rights reserved.