Man questioned in Florida wildfires
Damage reported at $3.5 million; 20 homes ruined
PALM BAY, Fla. - Authorities arrested a man they say was seen throwing a Molotov cocktail into the woods yesterday in this town on the Intracoastal Waterway, where several homes have been gutted by wildfires this week.
Authorities said Brian Crowder set a small blaze that was quickly extinguished. They planned to question the 31-year-old about larger wildfires that have found ample fuel in developments in the region, where the state has not held controlled burns to cut back vegetation.
A resident alerted police after seeing Crowder throw an object from his car that sparked the fire, Palm Bay Detective Ernie Diebel said. The object was a glass bottle containing a flammable liquid, Palm Bay Police Chief Bill Berger said.
The resident described a dark car, and officers stopped Crowder's vehicle shortly afterward. Crowder got out of his car and fled, Diebel said.
Officers tracked Crowder through the woods with the help of other residents who spotted him running past their houses, police said.
Records show Crowder has drug, burglary, and automobile theft convictions dating from 1996. He was charged yesterday with six probation violations but has so far not been charged with setting any fires.
He was being treated at a hospital for minor injuries caused by a police dog when officers took him into custody, Berger said.
A woman who answered the phone at a telephone listing for Crowder's mother declined to speak to a reporter.
According to arrest reports, Crowder has lived at various addresses in Palm Bay. Neighbors of Crowder's most recent residences, including a group home run by a church, said the houses were frequently rented by different people, and that they did not know anything about Crowder.
Authorities have said they believe the wildfires burning in Palm Bay and neighboring Malabar were set by an arsonist or arsonists. Two classic Florida phenomena have fueled the flames: rampant development and a year-round growing season.
Since the fires began Sunday, about 20 homes have been destroyed and 140 other structures were damaged. The damage was estimated at $3.5 million, said Palm Bay City Manager Lee Feldman, adding that homes and outbuildings were among the damaged structures. Officials had earlier reported 40 homes destroyed.
Efforts to contain the fires, which have burned about 15 square miles, were improving, officials said. Still, major highways in the area were still being intermittently closed because of smoke and the proximity of the flames.
"We had pretty good weather last night, so the fire laid down and let us catch up a bit," said Todd Schroeder, spokesman for the state's Division of Forestry.
In north Florida, firefighters were working on fires in uninhabited areas of Franklin and Liberty counties, west of Tallahassee. Both fires were in the Apalachicola National Estuarine Research Reserve and no people or homes were in danger.
