Suspect charged in Florida fires

(CNN) -- Florida authorities charged a suspect Thursday in connection with several arsons and are investigating whether he is tied to other blazes that burned 10,000 acres and destroyed 22 homes.

Brian Crowder, 31, was charged with "intentional burning of lands," according to a Palm Bay, Florida, arrest report.

The arrest was connected to several fires set Wednesday in woods in Palm Bay, according to the report.

Crowder may not be the only suspect, Palm Bay Police Chief Bill Berger said Thursday. Watch Crowder's 'perp walk' »

Authorities plan to question about 25 other juveniles and adults in the area who have a history of arson, Berger said.

Crowder was spotted by police near the scene of suspicious fire on Wednesday morning, a police report says. He then ran from police and while he was being chased, officers say, he ignited several small fires.

He was caught and initially charged with violation of probation from previous offenses.

Berger said Crowder is a suspect in a series of other fires in Brevard County, on the state's central Atlantic coast.

Those fires have destroyed 22 homes and damaged 160. The damage totals more than $9 million, officials have said. Learn how wildfires spread »

"He's cooperating; he's talking about what he did this morning," Berger said earlier. "He has provided information that puts him there and has provided information that is key to the investigation."

Todd Schroeder of the Florida Department of Forestry said 250 to 300 firefighters had the state's wildfires 60 percent contained by Thursday morning. They were aided by a sharp rise in humidity overnight, he said.

Meanwhile, a U.S. Navy jet sparked a fire in the Ocala National Forest in north-central Florida earlier this week after missing a target on a practice bombing run, according to Navy officials.

The F/A-18 based in Virginia Beach, Virginia, was on a training mission Tuesday over the Pinecastle Impact Range, located within the Ocala National Forest. The pilot released the 500-pound laser-guided bomb but it fell off its mark and landed in uninhabited woodland in the forest, Navy officials said.

The fire burned 257 acres before it was fully contained hours later, a fire official said

The Pinecastle Range is the only location on the East Coast where the Navy can drop live or inert bombs, Navy officials said.

The Navy is investigating, they said.

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