Florida town pushed to brink to battle wildfire

(CNN) -- A wildfire sapped a Florida town's resources Monday as it damaged or destroyed at least 50 homes, according to city officials who are investigating the blaze as a possible arson.

Palm Bay Mayor John Mazziotti said the fire was burning about three blocks from his home 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.

Palm Bay, on Florida's Atlantic coast, 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. Watch smoke billow from 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 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 issues with that as well."

Florida Gov. Charlie Crist declared a state of emergency earlier Monday as the fires were strengthened by drought conditions and strong winds.

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. Children from two schools in the city were sent home early because of the threat of smoke and fire, she said, adding that those schools would likely be closed Tuesday.

Authorities were investigating the fire as a possible arson. 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.

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 contained, authorities said.

A 2,500-acre fire also burned south of Palm Bay near Malabar and was still growing, according to Brevard County Fire and Rescue spokesman Orlando Dominguez. That fire had destroyed at least four homes and damaged several others. Watch a home go up in flames »

Smoke from the Cocoa fires forced the closure of Interstate 95 earlier in the day. It was later reopened, but closed again in two different locations in the county Monday afternoon. Several other roads were closed periodically during the day and into the night.

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 in the day.

CNN's Nick Valencia, Patty Lane and Janet DiGiacomo contributed to this report.

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