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May 16, 2008 12:17 pm US/Eastern
Firefighters Have Fl. Wildfires Nearly Contained
Fires Are 70 Percent Contained As Of Friday
PALM BAY (AP) ―
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Smoke rises from central Florida land scorched by wildfires that started May 11, 2008 .
The Early Show/CBS
Wildfires that destroyed dozens of homes on Florida's Atlantic Coast are now 70 percent contained, according to officials.
That's up from 60 percent a day earlier in the fires near Palm Bay, a town south of Cape Canaveral.
State Division of Forestry spokesman Todd Schroeder says firefighters are making sure hot spots are sprayed and areas within 50 feet from fire breaks are kept cool.
State emergency managers say wildfires are still burning more than 37,000 acres around the state. But homes are no longer threatened as many of the fires are in rural areas.
Florida Power & Light says electricity has also been restored to all customers. Several thousand people lost power earlier in the week.
As crews continue to corral those flames, police continue to broaden their search for arson suspects.
A man accused of starting a few small fires amid the string blazes was denied bond Thursday. Police say Brian Crowder lobbed a Molotov cocktail into tinder-dry woods Wednesday, and set several other fires to confuse officers who chased him.
Each of those blazes was immediately extinguished, and police have not connected Crowder to the larger fires that destroyed homes but are now more under control.
Still, police chief Bill Berger calls Crowder a "prime suspect" in a string of fires intentionally set around the city Sunday.
Investigators recommended he be charged with three counts of intentionally setting fire to public land, each carrying up to three years in prison. Prosecutors will ultimately determine the charges filed.
Crowder told reporters watching as police led him to a transport van that he may have accidentally sparked a fire, and ran because he was driving without a license.
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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