NATION IN BRIEF : FLORIDA : High Winds Fan Outbreak of Fires

Winds whipped up wildfires across Florida, destroying several homes, forcing evacuations and briefly closing Interstate 75. Of 120 fires reported to the state Division of Forestry during the day, 25 still burned at nightfall, said Florida Agriculture Commissioner Bob Crawford. No injuries were reported. Two fires, one of 1,000 acres and another of about 1,500 acres, destroyed several homes in the piney woods and palmetto scrub of the Lehigh Acres area west of Ft. Myers in southwest Florida. Extremely low humidity combined with very high winds were blamed for the fire conditions. The state said dangerous conditions would last through the weekend.