CENTRAL FLORIDA -- More than 160 homes have been seriously damaged or destroyed in a string of brush fires all over Central Florida.
Firefighters called Tuesday a "battle day," because unstable conditions are keeping them on alert, and nobody knew what the evening hours would bring.
To make it easy for you to find the latest information about fires in their areas, we have created individual pages for each area affected:
Fire Locations
All schools in Palm Bay remain closed Wednesday. See the full list of schools.
The fire fight has gone on so long that Gov. Charlie Crist has issued a state of emergency, and the state Emergency Operations Center is gearing up to send firefighters into Brevard County to replace crews that have been battling the blaze for more than 36 hours.
At a news conference Tuesday, Crist said FEMA has approved a federal grant to have the funding necessary to continue the firefighting effort and to help reimburse local governments.
Emergency response chief David Halstead said the EOC was coordinating with local and county fire departments to get more equipment and personnel to the fire areas.
"We have partially activated -- not to Level 2 yet, but we have operations, plans -- certainly our fire personnel are activated, and they're working off site, moving resources," Halstead said. "We've moved more than 25 fire engines and about15 wildfire engines from around the state to that impacted area."
Halstead said if the fires get worse over the next couple days, the EOC would ask the federal government for a fire management assistance grant, which will help defer the costs of fighting the fires.
Flagler And Volusia Counties Burn Ban
Dry and windy weather caused Flagler County officials to enact an emergency, county-wide burn ban, meaning open burning and fire pits are banned.
Residents could also be fined for running a vehicle on top of dry grass, or throwing cigarette butts from a vehicle.
Meanwhile, in Volusia County, a burn ban goes into effect Wednesday.
Fire crews say the ban is necessary because of the excessive dry brush, lack of rainfall, and unpredictable winds.
The ban affects unincorporated areas and the cities of DeBary, Oak Hill and Lake Helen, and the town of Pierson.
The city of Deltona is also enacting a similar ban.
Anyone who violates the rules could face fines and/or imprisonment.
Additional Information
Information is power, so we have collected some information and links to help you keep up with the latest on the brush fires and how to get help:
If you have any pictures of these fires, please e-mail them to special@cfnews13.com. Please include the photographer's name and where they were taken.
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