Control regained of some Florida wildfires

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Matt Dillon of the Florida Forestry Division watches flames in North Port, Florida, as he waits for a fire truck to arrive

PORT CHARLOTTE, Florida (CNN) -- Residents hoped to soon return to their homes in southwest Florida Thursday as firefighters mopped up several wildfires that destroyed one home and damaged several others.

The fires in Charlotte County were the most active Thursday among those that are burning across the state.

"We're going in and putting out hot spots," said Wayne Sallade, director of Charlotte County Emergency Management.

Nearly 100 homes were evacuated at the height of the wildfires. One home was destroyed and six were severely damaged, Sallade said. Residents may be allowed to return home Thursday night to assess the damage.

VIDEO Homes in southwest Florida continue to be threatened as wildfires continue Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media) CNN's Joie Chen talks with Sarasota County fire official Jeff Aaron about the blaze (April 18) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)     RESOURCES Florida weather forecasts

One of the seven fires, all called "suspicious" by officials, continued to burn in Charlotte County but it had moved into an unpopulated area of marshland, Sallade said.

Five aerial tankers and six helicopters were assisting firefighters on the ground to contain the fire that had consumed about 1,200 acres, according to state Forestry Division spokesman Frank Taylor.

Other fires continue to burn

More homes were evacuated near North Port in Sarasota County as a new fire scorched 1,500 acres. Taylor said some homes had been lost but exact numbers were not available.

An earlier fire in Sarasota County that destroyed at least one home north of North Port was 50 percent contained Thursday. The wildfire, which had scorched 4,500 acres by Thursday, began after wind spread a controlled burn in the Carlton Reserve.

Firefighters finish dousing a jeep and shed located next to a home in North Port

A section of northbound Interstate 95 was shut down near Port St. Lucie as firefighters battled three brush fires. Some houses could be threatened, said Ann Rowe with the Florida Division of Emergency Management, but no evacuations had been ordered.

Firefighters also were battling several fires in central Florida, including one blaze that investigators believe was started by an arsonist along the Kissimmee Prairie State Park in northwest Okeechobee County. That blaze had burned up to 14,000 acres of uninhabited land.

Since January, more than 2,000 wildfires have broken out in Florida, burning more than 162,000 acres, according to Jim Karels with the Division of Forestry. The state is experiencing a severe drought.

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Florida Division of Forestry
Florida's Forest Protection Bureau

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