Florida Fires Get Rain, But Not Enough

(CBS/AP)  Rain brought little relief to firefighters battling about 50 wildfires in parched central Florida on Tuesday, and smoke from blazes around the state was blamed for four traffic fatalities.

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."