Florida Fires Get Rain, But Not Enough
103 Fires In 25,000 Acres; Smoke Closes Highways, Causes Accidents
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Florida Still Battling Fires
In Florida, fires have destroyed 25,000 acres from Orlando to Miami, and dense smoke continues to force officials to close parts of the interstate until conditions improve. Jim Acosta reports.
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Florida In State Of Emergency
There's a state of emergency in Florida stretching from New Smyrna Beach to Tampa. Dozens of wildfires have scorched more than 8,000 acres, causing several deaths. Jim Acosta reports.
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Florida Residents Flee Fire
In Central Florida, stubborn brush fires have forced hundreds of residents to flee their homes. Tarik Minor of CBS affiliate WKMG reports, and spokesperson Shannon Lewis speaks with Rene Syler.
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A brush fire burns in Sun City Center, Fla., May 9, 2006. (AP/Tampa Tribune, Robert Burke)
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President Bush talks to reporters at the Hillsborough County Fire Station in Sun City Center, Fla., May 9, 2006. (AP Photo/Greg Fight)
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Hillsborough County firefighters keep watch on a brush fire, May 9, 2006, in Sun City Center, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
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Photo Essay
Florida Brush Fires
Firefighters battle blazes which forced about 1,000 people to evacuate their homes and closed parts of Interstate 95.
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Interactive
Wildfires
Photo essays, the worst U.S. fires, facts on fire science and health issues.
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Disaster Links
Looking for disaster-related information on the Web? Go to the CBS News Disaster Links web site put together by CBS News Producer and Technologist "Digital Dan" Dubno.
The Sunshine State is sun-dried, reports CBS News correspondent Jim Acosta. Officials say a few scattered showers over the last 24 hours have done little to stop the fires burning all the way down to the Florida Everglades.
Statewide, 103 fires were burning across nearly 25,000 acres, according to the Division of Forestry.
Nationwide, reports Acosta, the number of acres scorched by wildfires is already ten times higher than it was for the same timeframe last year.
Three homes and several outdoor structures have been destroyed so far in the fires that started April 21, but no homes were in immediate danger Tuesday.
About an inch of rain fell overnight, reports CBS News Meteorologist George Cullen, and more could be on the way, but the state remains what Gov. Jeb Bush called "a tinder box."
So far this spring, resort towns from Daytona Beach to Fort Lauderdale and Key West have shattered low rainfall records, some that have stood for half a century.
"They had only received about two inches of rain in about a two- to two-and-a-half month period of time, when the normal should be about 11 or 12 inches," says Cullen.
Thick black smoke mixed with morning fog has caused dozens of car accidents. Two people died and 19 passengers on a bus were injured in four crashes Monday in central Florida.
Fires in south Florida caused two traffic fatalities early Monday in Palm Beach County.
Parts of Interstate 95 and the BeachLine Expressway, which runs from Orlando to the Atlantic coast, will be closed to morning traffic until further notice, officials said.
"Obviously the people need to be real careful, careful about starting fires, be careful about not throwing used cigarettes out," President Bush said Tuesday during a visit to the state. "They need to be mindful that these are dangerous conditions."
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