Jesse Scheckner
A massive wildfire burning deep in the Everglades has grown to consume 19,450 acres and continues to push smoke across South Florida, creating air quality concerns, reducing road visibility and dropping ash on some populated areas in the region.
The Florida Forest Service said two separate blazes — the 19,200-acre Mile Marker 39 Fire and 250-acre Sawgrass Fire — merged Wednesday, forming one large blaze that remained 0% contained by Wednesday evening.
That’s far larger than the combined 1,850 acres the two conflagrations covered Wednesday morning.
The agency faces challenges in extinguishing the blaze, since it’s happening in a conservation area with little to no roadway access.
“The turnaround time to get water for suppression would be multiple hours, where the fire would just gain its momentum back up,” Florida Forest Service Supervisor Thom Coletti told CBS News Miami on Thursday morning.
He said the fire will likely have to burn itself out, once it runs out of fuel.
Fueled by dry sawgrass and ignited by lightning strikes during recent severe thunderstorms, the fire is burning in a remote section of western Broward County, far from homes and businesses.
The National Weather Service issued an Air Quality Alert through Thursday morning, warning smoke would drift eastward overnight into populated areas as winds eased. Close to Thursday afternoon, the Environmental Protection Agency’s AirNow Fire and Smoke Map listed the worst air quality in Broward as “moderate” but improving. The agency advises “unusually sensitive people (to) consider reducing outdoor activity” and to “go inside to cleaner air if (they) have symptoms.”
Drivers across Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties reported hazy skies and reduced visibility. Officials warned conditions could change rapidly over short distances, urging motorists to use caution.
The Florida Forest Service also reported a fire near the Tamiami Canal east of Krome Avenue in Miami-Dade. That blaze, dubbed the Krome Avenue Pit Fire, was 95% contained as of noon Wednesday.
