Everglades brush fire sends smoke across parts of Miami-Dade

THE EVERGLADES, FLA. (WSVN) - A large brush fire is burning in the Everglades, sending smoke into parts of Miami-Dade County.

The smell of smoke on Krome Avenue and Kendall Drive is intense, and the Florida Forest Service worries with more gusty winds, that smell could get worse, and the fire could spread even farther.

The massive brushfire has already burned 1,100 acres of South Florida scrubland, mostly inside Everglades National Park, but being split being state federal lands.

The Florida Forest Service confirmed 80% of the fire on the state side has been contained.

They also know it was human-caused, but are still investigating exactly what happened.

It’s still an active scene, though, as huge amounts smoke are still pumping into the sky, which are now heading eastward into populated parts of Miami-Dade county and even into parts of Broward county.

Michael Gue, an Everglades National Park firefighter said, “Pretty intense. We got hot dry conditions with a lot of wind which is causing some pretty active fire behavior.”

So, firefighters from the Forest Service and Everglades National Park are racing to put it out.

The fire sparked Sunday afternoon, and burned all throughout the night, near where Christian Gomez lives.

“By one in the morning I was outside you could smell and see the sky. It was that green color,” Gomez said.

On Monday, flames were still raging. They’re being fueled by strong gusting winds from the Gulf of Mexico.

Firefighters say their battle is far from over.

“Most of the winds have been between 20 and gusts of up to 30 miles per hour,” said Gue. “We expect to see smoke from this fire for the next few days. As dry as things are it is going to take us a few days for sure to get a handle on the fire.”

With all that smoke moving into neighborhoods, some residents are concerned.

Ariel Jarquin, who lives near the fire, said, “Yeah, it got through the vents in the car. I was worried I might have an asthma attack.”

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