The Associated Press
EDGEWATER, Fla. — Authorities evacuated about 1,400 homes in east-central Florida on Monday after a brush fire jumped across a highway and threatened a residential area.
The 800-acre blaze started in a rural area along Interstate 95, then moved across the pavement, posing a threat to homes and forcing officials to close a 12-mile stretch of the highway.
“The fire is blowing east. It’s blowing directly over the road, and parts of the median are on fire,” state trooper Kim Miller said.
Parts of the highway have been closed intermittently for weeks because thick smoke from brush fires has mixed with morning fog and obscured the road, causing dozens of accidents.
Four people have died in car wrecks attributed to the smoke.
Wildfires have burned more than 101,600 acres in Florida since Jan. 1, according to the state Division of Forestry.