A wildfire burned thousands of acres in Miami-Dade and Broward counties, obscuring the sky with smoke on Monday morning.
Fire rescue crews have been working to contain the Max Road fire, burning west of U.S. 27, since Sunday. It has burned 4,800 acres and is 20% contained, according to the Florida Forest Service.
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue (MDFR) said it first received reports of a brush fire near North Krome Avenue and Northwest 186th Street. More than 12 of their units arrived at the scene, and air rescue began water drops.
Agencies including MDFR, the Florida Forest Service and Broward Sheriff’s Fire Rescue are working together to protect nearby properties and surrounding areas. No injures have been reported.
A nearby school, Somerset Academy, said it was monitoring fire conditions and for now, all school operations and testing would continue as planned.
Meanwhile, officials warned that another blaze in Florida City caused low visibility on U.S. 1.
Neighbor says fire blocked ‘the only road’ out
Video showed flames tumbling through the dry sawgrass as smoke filled the air just west of U.S. 27.
The flames quickly pushed closer to homes near Max’s Fish Camp and Airboat Rides, where Roxanne Gil and her boyfriend were home with their 1-year-old child.
“We were sitting on the couch, and his father called and said there was a fire,” she said. “We went outside, and there was just smoke immediately not even ten minutes from the house.”
Roxanne said that to make matters worse, there was only one roadway to safety.
“There was no way to leave; the fire was blocking the only road, the only way was to take an airboat,” she said.
She said she and her neighbors quickly jumped into action.
“I had to hose down my house, neighbors hosed down their trailers before the fire department came,” she said.
The fire threatened several homes, but residents told NBC6 that they are OK.
The smoke and flames also drifted towards a Pembroke Pines community, and, according to police, fire crews are stationed along the perimeter of the Holly Lake community, where they will be monitoring conditions.
Crews are urging residents to avoid the area as they continue to work on putting the fire out.
Smoky conditions and much-needed rain
Winds are pushing smoke north-northwest, so areas south and southeast of the blaze should see improvements in the air quality.
Humidity is high and winds are generally light, which help in the firefight. Much-needed rain could arrive in the form of a few showers and storms as early as Monday. Those rain chances tick up on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The National Weather Service urges caution for sensitive groups such as children, the elderly and those with compromised immune systems, as exposure to air pollutants can cause headaches, difficulty breathing, irritate eyes and sinuses, and more.