JOE KALEITA/Associated Press

A firefighter walks away from burning brush in the Oakmont Preserve subdivision in Malabar, Fla., on Tuesday, May 13, 2008. Wildfires continued to burn for the third day in Brevard County, in east Central Florida.

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DAYTONA BEACH — Relentless wildfires burned into the early morning Tuesday across Florida's Atlantic coast, taxing firefighters and overwhelming residents trying to save their homes with garden hoses.

Thirty four miles of Interstate 95 from Vero Beach to Melbourne have been closed, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. Motorists are advised to get on I-95 at Interstate 4 in Orlando to head north.

AccuWeather.com reports that today's departure of gusty winds from the southeast is good news as five wildfires burn across the state. Fires will not spread as quickly, however, the dry conditions that have covered the region for most of the month will continue. More humid conditions will begin building over the Southeast by Wednesday before showers and storms move into the region by Wednesday night, AccuWeather reports.

Firefighters in the Brevard County were working for a third day trying to stop flames that have scorched about 3,800 acres, about 6 square miles, in the neighboring towns of Palm Bay and Malabar. Four homes have been destroyed and about 70 damaged.

"Every time I turn around another house is on fire. We don't have enough resources on our own to do a job like this," said Palm Bay spokeswoman Yvonne Martinez.

Officials expressed concern early Tuesday after flare-ups overnight. Flare-ups when humidity is higher can be a bad sign because fire spreads even more quickly during the drier and windier daylight hours, said Palm Bay Assistant Fire Chief Jim Stables.

"It's going to be challenging to get the fire under control," he said.

All 18 schools in Palm Bay, including charter schools, will be closed Tuesday. Stretches of Interstate 95 and U.S. Highway 1 in Brevard County that had been closed due to smoke were reopened early Tuesday.

One of the homes destroyed in Malabar belonged to Butch Vanfleet, who built the home in 1980 and tried in vain to protect it with a garden hose.

"It's devastation," he said. "All you see is nothing but ash in between the palm trees and the palmetto. There's no grass. The fire just came so quickly, we barely got out of there."

Gov. Charlie Crist declared a state of emergency Monday as dry, windy weather worsened conditions. His orders allow Florida to use federal funds and bring local emergency workers under state control. It also allows Florida to call on other states for help, if necessary.

Firefighters may get some help Tuesday, since winds on the coast were expected to slow to 10 to 15 mph, according to the National Weather Service.

Authorities said the fire at Malabar may be the result of arson. A witness saw someone in a car drop something into an open field, and the fire started shortly afterward, an arson investigator said.

About 80 miles north in Daytona Beach, an 800-acre fire forced an evacuation order for about 500 homes, but residents were allowed to return Monday evening. No structures were reported damaged, though officials warned embers could fly more than a mile from the blaze and spark new hot spots.

Ray Ademski, a 68-year-old retiree, left his Daytona Beach home with his wife and their important papers when he saw columns of smoke Sunday night around the subdivision. He hosed down the roof and turned on the sprinklers in his yard before the couple left for a hotel.

"I could feel the heat from both sides," said Ademski, who returned by bicycle Monday to survey the damage. "The smoke was going straight into my eyes. It was terrible."

Hundreds of firefighters worked the state's blazes, bulldozing highly flammable brush and vegetation and leaving behind less flammable dirt to keep the fires from advancing. At least three firefighters were injured Monday, according to the Florida Division of Emergency Management.

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Associated Press writers Jennifer Kay, Antonio Gonzalez, Kelli Kennedy and Suzette Laboy in Miami contributed to this report.

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On the Net:

National Interagency Fire Center: http://www.nifc.gov