''We had our cars packed for three days -- pictures, wills, important papers,'' Ms. Ratusz said. ''We could see smoke, red, black and white. It looked like the whole place was on fire.''

Ms. Ratusz and her neighbors sought refuge at a Red Cross shelter at Lake Mary High School in Seminole County after putting lawn sprinklers on the roof and leaving them on to try to protect their homes. They said they had lived with the stench of smoke for weeks, but that until the last minute they had believed they would be spared.

''I just figured with all these firefighters around these fires couldn't get out of control,'' said Eddie Jensen, 40, a postal clerk who left Palm Coast with his wife and two teen-age children. ''People don't realize how rural Florida really is. They think beach, palm trees and bikinis.''

State officials said they could count at least 4,500 firefighters working on the fires, but that the number probably missed hundreds more pitching in from local police departments.

Help has come from the Army, the Marines, the National Guard, the Bureau of Indian Affairs and fire departments from across the country. Fire officials said they are using every resource at their disposal, from trucks and bulldozers to planes and helicopters, and both modern and antiquated equipment. This includes three World War II bombers that can drop 2,000 gallons of water each and a C215 tanker aircraft from North Carolina, nicknamed the ''Super Scooper,'' that can scoop up 1,400 gallons of water in 10 seconds as it skims over large lakes.

But while the cost of battling the 1,785 fires so far is more than $80 million, many firefighters on the field say that the only resource that can ultimately help them is rain.

No rain is forecast, but winds are expected to continue blowing in from the ocean in Brevard County. Increased humidity from the sea breezes is expected to help dampen the fires slightly. Light rain fell today in Flagler and Volusia Counties, but did not affect the major fires.