Florida Inferno

By Tammerlin Drummond/Brevard County

The Sunshine State knows all about storms. It can tell good clouds from nasty ones, a hurricane sky from one simply overcast. But a novel kind of darkness has come over Florida, and there is no hurricane in sight. What do you do when you're ready for rain and all that comes down is ash, falling like snow but dark and devilish and warm, from a heaven angry with smoke? Run, or get ready to be burned on the Fourth of July.

Three counties' worth of Floridians were ordered out of their homes last week: 70,000 people fleeing inland along hurricane evacuation routes from flames that have eaten away at the state since Memorial Day. The Pepsi 400 NASCAR race in Daytona Beach was canceled because of low visibility. The fires got within 50 miles of the Magic Kingdom, but Disney World was out of danger at week's end. More than 320,000 acres have burned since May 25. Last week the fires forced the closure of some 200 miles of I-95, Florida's main artery.

Florida isn't used to infernos of this size and duration. When the ravaged counties petitioned Governor Lawton Chiles for more help last week, he could only throw up his hands. The state's resources, he said, were already committed, including every helicopter and every bulldozer. Furthermore, 4,000 fire fighters from 41 states, National Guard troops and even the U.S. Marines had joined the battle. "Florida's never seen fires like this before," said Chiles. "We're having 90 to 100 new fires a day."

Fueled by stiff winds, the flames have jumped from treetop to treetop in a landscape made hospitable by a severe drought. Flames even shoot up through tree roots. Rotting vegetation sparks without warning, creating idiosyncratic wind patterns. Conflagrations then skip over bulldozed firebreaks and highways. "The fires make such rapid advances that it's not feasible to put men in there," says Steve Parsons of the Florida emergency-management agency. "We've got to get those long-term rains to get some moisture in the ground." Last week the Governor asked the state to pray for rain. The prayers may have been answered. Over the weekend, scattered showers and sea breezes helped firefighters begin to get a handle on the blazes, and rain was forecast for this week.

--By Tammerlin Drummond/Brevard County