Washington  - Wildfires in eastern Florida caused hundreds of people to be evacuated as firefighters worked to battle the blazes, US media reported Monday.

At least five homes had burned in a 1,214-hectare blaze, the largest of several blazes east of Orlando, CNN reported. Residents of 600 homes had been evacuated.

The smoke forced the closure of a major north-south US highway on Sunday after the fires broke out. (dpa)