Nearly 100 homes have been damaged or destroyed by wildfires sweeping through central Florida, but as of Tuesday morning, a fire marshal said most of the blazes are contained.

Fire engulfs a house Monday in Palm Bay, Florida after dry conditions and wind fueled the flames.

Palm Bay Fire Marshal Mike Couture said teams going door to door have found damage ranging from burned fences to leveled homes.

While winds are expected to pick up in the afternoon, Couture said he hoped the situation would stabilize.

"[We are] praying that nothing continues to happen here," he said at the news conference.

Couture said so far no deaths had been reported from the wildfires.

Investigators were looking into the possibility that an arsonist started the 3,500-acre blaze, officials said.

Palm Bay Mayor John Mazziotti said a $10,000 reward was in place for information leading to the arrest and conviction of anyone responsible for starting the fire.

Investigators were acting on several tips, he said.

"I think it's sick," Halie Vail, who had a neighbor lose a house, told CNN affiliate WFTV-TV. "I think they'll probably burn in hell. They created hell, they'll burn in hell for it."

Mazziotti said the fire was burning about "three to four blocks from my place" and he had moved his family to a safer area.

"If there's smoke, you probably need to pack up and go someplace else because it's pretty dangerous," Mazziotti said.




The Brevard County city on Florida's Atlantic side has not announced mandatory evacuations, said Assistant Fire Chief John Stables.

"We're handling it on a case-to-case basis depending on the conditions of the homes and things like that," Stables said.

Stables and Mazziotti said the city was running short of resources to fight the fire.

"We've exhausted all local resources, and we're utilizing several resources from around the state," Stables said, adding that two helicopters with drop buckets from the state Division of Forestry were just not enough.

"We're at limited water as well," he said.

"We're in a really bad situation right now with the drought index," he said. "We have no rain, and in turn, this wind has caused us a great deal of issue with that as well."

Mazziotti, asked if the city had enough resources, said simply, "No."

Residents took it upon themselves to try to help each other out.

"I can't sit by and watch," resident Matt Call told CNN affiliate WKMG-TV. "I can't evacuate and run away. I have to step up."

Call and Robert Johnson were part of a group running to fire lines to help strangers.

"If it makes a difference of me saving one of my neighbors' homes by staying here and helping, then I stay here and fight," Call told WKMG.

"If this house goes, then it is going to jump to the next house and then the next house and then eventually to mine," Johnson told WKMG reporters.

Florida Gov. Charlie Crist declared a state of emergency earlier Monday as the fires, fed by drought conditions and strong winds, spread. Crist activated the National Guard to help battle the blazes and help with evacuations.

Palm Bay Fire spokesman Yvone Martinez said three firefighters were injured -- including one who was airlifted from the scene -- but she did not know the nature of their injuries.

All 18 schools in Palm Bay were closed Tuesday, according to the Brevard County Public Schools' Web site. Parts of Interstate 95 and U.S. Highway 1 in Brevard County that were closed because of smoke conditions have reopened, according to CNN affiliate WKMG-TV.

Palm Bay wasn't the only place affected by the drought-fueled wildfires. Two other blazes in Brevard County burned about 200 acres in Cocoa, but were almost completely contained, authorities said.

And a 2,500-acre fire burned south of Palm Bay near Malabar and continued to flare up Tuesday morning, according to Brevard County Fire and Rescue spokesman Orlando Dominguez. That fire had destroyed at least four homes and damaged several others.

About 80 miles north, in Volusia County, a fire that had burned about 800 acres was 55 percent contained, according to the Daytona Beach Fire Department. Nearly 600 homes near LPGA Boulevard were evacuated, but the evacuation was lifted late Monday.

A man was arrested Wednesday in connection with a deliberately set wildfire in Palm Bay, Florida, authorities said.
Brian Crowder, 31, was captured in a field after twice running from police who tried to apprehend him, Palm Bay Police Chief Bill Berger said at a Wednesday morning news conference.

"I am not saying that he is the individual connected to this arson ... but I can tell you we have made an arrest," Berger said.

A resident called police shortly after 4 a.m. to report seeing a man throw something out of a car into a field, where a fire broke out, Berger said.

The fire measured just 10 by 10 feet and burned only plants, Palm Bay Fire Rescue Chief Jim Stables said.

An officer soon stopped a car matching the description, but the driver got out and ran, Berger said. The abandoned car was traced to Crowder's residence about a mile away, he said.

When police arrived at Crowder's house, the man ran into surrounding fields, Berger said. Guided by residents' calls, about 60 police officers closed in on the suspect for almost 90 minutes before a police dog caught him, the chief said.

Crowder was being treated at Palm Bay Hospital for minor dog-bite injuries and cuts from the brush he had run through, police spokeswoman Yvonne Martinez said.

He was being held on probation violations, but arson-related charges had not yet been filed, Martinez said. Crowder has a record of drug violations, auto theft, burglary and other crimes, but not arson, she said.

"We have a lot of work ahead of us," Berger said. "First we need to see if in fact he is the person, and two, if we can forensically put it together."

Authorities would not say whether Crowder was considered a suspect in any of the other wildfires that have burned nearly 10,000 acres in Florida.

"Many times on these arsons ... it's not one person," Berger said. "People are fascinated by fires, they may want to go out and create their own activity. ... All I know is that this individual [is] possibly connected to the arson that occurred this morning."

Dale Armstrong of the Florida Division of Forestry said firefighters were working on four main fires: Osage, at 3,600 acres; Lowery, at 4,800 acres; Madden, at 1,400 acres; and Jupiter, at 190 acres.

Palm Bay City Manager Lee Feldman said 22 homes worth a total of $3.5 million had been destroyed or rendered uninhabitable. Lesser damage had been inflicted on 160 homes, other structures and personal property valued at $9.6 million