<\/p>\n
Adam Arenas, 14, stands outside his Northwest Doral home on June 18, 2026, as the Well and Quarry 2 fires burn just miles away from his house.<\/p>\n
Kairi Lowery<\/p>\n
kairi.lowery@miamiherald.com<\/p>\n
Adam Arenas\u2019 Doral neighborhood was calm and quiet just a few days go. All it took was one flash of lightning to change that.<\/p>\n
Suddenly, Miami seemed to be on fire.<\/p>\n
One brush fire from the summer storm then split into two, and the raging flames sent plumes of black smoke upward, darkening the skies for miles and fouling the air.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s been a hellish week across South Florida. Fire. Extreme heat. Sudden downpours. Flying soot. The constant buzz of choppers.<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore, it looked like a big, slow-moving cloud,\u201d 14-year-old Adam told the Miami Herald, sweating Thursday from the feels-like 100 degrees as South Florida was under a heat advisory by the National Weather Service. \u201cBut now it just looks like a giant wall of fast-moving smoke.\u201d<\/p>\n
On Sunday, the original fire started in grassy flats near Krome Avenue during a thunderstorm before splitting into the Quarry 2 Fire and the Wells Fire. By Thursday afternoon, Quarry 2 had burned more than 17,000 acres while Wells had scorched 600, according to the Florida Forest Service fire map.<\/a><\/p>\n READ MORE: 200 people leave their homes as growing fires menace West Miami-Dade<\/a><\/p>\n Hundreds of Miami-Dade Fire Rescue firefighters, Florida Forest Service crews, National Guardsmen and other public safety agencies are still working to put out the flames. The Quarry 2 Fire is at 75% containment, and Wells is at 25%.<\/p>\n \u201cIt doesn\u2019t take much to spark these wildfires that you are seeing,\u201d AccuWeather senior meteorologist Chad Merrill said. \u201cAll you need is low humidity, very dry soil. … and warm temperatures and these brush fires can get going.\u201d<\/p>\n As the fires start and rage, weather patterns are keeping Florida mostly dry.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a regional and statewide drought,\u201d Merrill said.<\/p>\n During El Ni\u00f1o summers, it\u2019s common for Florida to be drier than average. El Ni\u00f1o is characterized by warmer ocean waters and fewer storms in the tropics.<\/p>\n One of Florida\u2019s driest Junes on record, in 1987, also occurred during an El Ni\u00f1o summer, Merill said.<\/p>\n There has also been a lot of wind shear and dry air over the Gulf and the Caribbean. Those conditions make it difficult for tropical systems and moisture to develop and move into Florida. There\u2019s also Saharan dust blowing off the coast of Africa which can \u201cact as a kind of a drying agent,\u201d Merrill said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s going to take multiple rainstorms to get out of the ground,\u201d Merill said.<\/p>\n A four- to six-day period of consistent rainfall may \u201cchip away\u201d at the drought, but the soil can quickly dry out and the \u201cbrush fire risk can return pretty quickly if you go back into an extended dry period,\u201d Merrill said.<\/p>\n For those living in the areas near the fires the loud mechanical roar of fire-rescue helicopters has become a constant. Miami-Dade Fire Rescue has deployed more than 40 units, including fire engines, water tender trucks, air rescue, and other specialized wildfires suppression resources to contain and extinguish the fires.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have multiple units from multiple agencies, local, state, federal, that are helping support that operations,\u201d said Jesse Spearo, assistant director of Miami-Dade County Emergency Management, Thursday at a Florida Division of Emergency Management roundtable.<\/p>\n Residents say that Wednesday was notably the worst day of the five that the fires have been burning. Neighboring residents noted the wind carrying soot flew directly toward them.<\/p>\n An area that has been hit by a fire can bring flash flooding \u201ceven more readily,\u201d Merrill said.<\/p>\n During a drought, the ground becomes very dry. If a wildfire has burned through an area, it also leaves behind ash, loose soil and other debris.<\/p>\n \u201cSometimes the ground is just so dry that if it rains two inches per hour it\u2019s going to run off,\u201d Merrill said. \u201cIt\u2019s like hitting cement, and the water just flows down to a lower elevation in that particular location.\u201d<\/p>\n As that fast-moving water flows downhill, it picks up ash, dirt and burned vegetation, carrying them into nearby roads and neighborhoods. That means people could see mudslide-esque conditions in addition to flash flooding.<\/p>\n Merrill advises people to take \u201cnormal precautions you would for the hurricane season\u201d and to \u201cmake sure you have an escape route.\u201d<\/p>\n Doral resident Jefry Sulbaran, 57, said the fires have gotten so bad, he packed bags in case of an evacuation order.<\/p>\n Sulbaran, who has lived in the area for 10 years, said when he opened the door to his two-story home Wednesday night, the air outside was thick with what looked like fog. It was smoke.<\/p>\n He placed a large, oscillating fan in front of his air-conditioning unit in hopes of warding off fumes from entering his house.<\/p>\n \u201cYesterday was a panic,\u201d he said as a whirring helicopter flew overhead.<\/p>\n Other neighbors are similarly distraught, even making a WhatsApp group chat for emergency updates from officials.<\/p>\n While Doral residents haven\u2019t been urged to leave their homes, the fires have prompted road shutdowns and the voluntary evacuation of a trailer park community. More than 200 left their homes near Krome Avenue.<\/p>\n \u201cThe evacuation,\u201d said Miami-Dade Sheriff\u2019s Office Assistant Sheriff Fernand Charles, \u201cwas for the sanctity of life.\u201d<\/p>\n Miami Herald staff writer Churchill Ndonwie contributed to this report.<\/p>\n This story was originally published June 18, 2026 at 5:56 PM.<\/p>\n Milena Malaver<\/a><\/p>\n Miami Herald<\/p>\n Milena Malaver covers crime and breaking news for the Miami Herald. She was born and raised in Miami-Dade and is a graduate of Florida International University. She joined the Herald shortly after graduating.\n <\/p>\n The Well and Quarry 2 fires in the Miami-Dade area have burned over 17,000 acres as of June 18, 2026. Kairi Lowery kairi.lowery@miamiherald.com A severe drought<\/p>\n
![\"Smoke](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1781826496_983_MIA_6-17firestoryAGS051.JPG\" "\\"MIA_6-17firestoryAGS051.JPG\\"")
Smoke rises during a brush fire on Wednesday, June 17, 2026, in West Miami-Dade just west of Doral. Alie Skowronski askowronski@miamiherald.com Added risks during hurricane season<\/p>\n![\"Smoke](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1781826496_591_MIA_6-17firestoryAGS061.JPG\" "\\"MIA_6-17firestoryAGS061.JPG\\"")
Smoke rises during a brush fire on Wednesday, June 17, 2026, in West Miami-Dade just west of Doral. Alie Skowronski askowronski@miamiherald.com <\/p>\n