The American Red Cross Space Coast Chapter has spent between $12,000 and $15,000 for food and other help for firefighters. Donations to make up that money can be sent to: American Red Cross, 1700 Cedar St., Rockledge, FL 32955. For information, call 890-1002.

Susan Bennett thought she knew how she'd act and what she'd do if a natural disaster, like a fire or hurricane, swept down Date Palm Street in Canaveral Groves.

Instead, as fire shot into trees on either side of her house April 27, melting garage siding and engulfing a tennis court, she stood in the yard "screaming and frozen with fear," Bennett said.

Two weeks since brush fires ignited in North and Central Brevard County and eventually consumed 6,500 acres, residents of most-affected areas are weary but wary. Even with rain in the forecast and fires contained, many say the kind of raw, ragged emotion Bennett feels still is palpable.

"I thought I'd be so much better at something like this because of hurricane preparation," Bennett said. "But I stood in the middle of our house and sobbed. Where does one begin to grab what's important to you? If it hadn't been for our neighbors, I'm not sure we'd even have a house. I can cry just thinking about it."

Mental distress after such an experience isn't uncommon, said John Taylor, assistant professor of sociology at Florida State University. He and two other FSU sociologists recently presented findings on links between long-term mental distress and hurricanes, focusing on Hurricane Andrew and predicting some dire consequences for many who lived through Katrina.

Their research found two kinds of people post-disaster, Taylor said -- those who have a game plan and are less bothered because they've seen a hurricane, and those who are terrified because they know the implications of such a storm.

Similarly, with fires, watching the progression on TV can be terrifying, he said. And something like seeing fire start to march across one's property can truly ignite stress.

Add to the list of stressors, he said, inconveniences that lengthen an already-long day. With Brevard fires, lingering smoke caused fatal accidents, and traffic detours sent drivers looking for new routes to work. Wednesday, trees weakened by fire alongside Interstate 95 in Volusia County forced the indefinite closure of a section of I-95 just north of the Brevard County line.

A Bennett Auto Supply truck sat in a long line of southbound traffic on U.S. 1 between Titusville and Cocoa during the morning rush hour Wednesday. The company, with stores in Titusville, Cocoa and Melbourne, shuttles parts to and from those locations.

"It's affected everything, from trying to get to and from work to sending parts back and forth," said Dallas Powell, manager of the Titusville store.

There's also the stress of cleanup, even if it's just minimal. On May 5, the night of the Dalehurst-area fire in west Cocoa, Lawrence and Fran Fleckinger of Junedale Drive were having dinner in Viera. As soon as they learned of the fire, they dashed home, worried sick about their horses and dogs.

Earlier this week, Lawrence Fleckinger and one of those dogs, Molly, walked an ash-filled, burned path along the back portion of the Fleckingers' 20 acres. They passed blackened cabbage palm trees and the charred shells of a neighbor's burned truck and catamaran.

Some looked heavenward for spiritual guidance as well as for smoke and flames. At the Friday Road Worship Center near Dalehurst Drive, a May 5 evening service turned into a refuge for firefighters, police officers and media as fire threatened that area.

"As the wind was coming toward the building, we went to prayer," the Rev. Dick Perkins said. "It hopped at an angle away from the church and slowed down. That gave the firefighters the opportunity to get a handle on it. They did a marvelous job of knocking the fire down."

"The amazing thing is that nobody was hurt that I know of and not an animal or house was lost. I thank the good Lord for bringing us the best people in the world to do the job they did," Perkins said.

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