PALM BAY, Fla. — Fifteen years ago Thursday, a series of wildfires devastated parts of Palm Bay. Known as the Mother's Day Fires, dozens of homes were destroyed and hundreds damaged.

Retired Deputy Chief Anthony Gianantonio is now a fire analyst for Palm Bay Fire Rescue.

He keeps very detailed records, including those connected to the wildfires of 2008.

When they hit, Gianantonio said he was on the frontline as a young firefighter.

"On actual Mother's Day in 2008, there was a reported brush fire in the southwest section by Jupiter and Santa Domingo," he said. "That's when the wind took it and it pushed it from the southwest to the southeast part of the city, and that's where a major portion of the homes were destroyed."

Several separate fires popped up in different parts of the city, Gianantonio said.

At the time, he said the fire department's resources were spreading thin as dry conditions and swift winds fanned the flames, and leaders had no choice but to call for help.

"All the crash trucks from the space center, Patrick, Orlando, Pinnelas, McClenney, Flagler, Jacksonville, that's when we finally got help," Gianantonio said.

During that week, 33 homes were destroyed and 236 were damaged, and Gianantonio says he has files on all of them.

Most of the destroyed properties were never rebuilt, he said.

One on Summer Street is covered with 15 years' worth of overgrown brush, and only part of the driveway remains.

"I called my wife, I thought for sure our house was next." said Erik Guadalupe, who still lives right across the street.

He says embers were flying toward his house as the fire raged only yards away while he and a friend tried to get all the valuables out of his home.

Erik said it's hard to believe it's been 15 years since the fires hit.

"It doesn't seem like it, but then again, I look across the street and that's where a home used to be and there's nothing there now," he said.

The Palm Bay Fire Department's message to homeowners now is to clear all dense brush at least 30 feet from your home and keep 100 feet of hose available at an exterior faucet.

"We try to get them on the front end with some fire education and prevention measures," Gianantonio said.

In all, the fires of 2008 caused $34 million in damage and burned more than 10,000 acres.