SOUTH MIAMI-DADE, FLA. (WSVN) - Firefighters in South Miami-Dade continue to battle a grass fire near U.S. 1 on day three.
Officials said the blaze that sparked Tuesday afternoon has spread quickly due to overnight winds.
Thursday, fire crews used a helicopter to try to contain the fire from spreading.
Officials in the forestry service said they are working against high winds.
David Rosenbaum with the Florida Forest Service said the flames scorched more than 1,000 acres.
Officials said the fire started when a pickup truck caught fire.
Rosenbaum said the driver was headed to the Florida Keys when he noticed flames coming out of his truck and pulled over near mile marker 125 on U.S. 1.
“Once the fire ignited the dry grass, the winds pushed it into some heavily vegetated areas west of the highway,” said Rosenbaum.
7Skyforce caught the fire getting closer to the highway once again.
Crews were able to keep the flames at bay and prevented another road closure like the one that shut down all southbound lanes of U.S. 1 for hours on Tuesday.
Most of the fire remained further west of U.S. 1 and didn’t pose any danger to people or buildings.
However, Rosenbaum cautioned residents to be safe during the remainder of fire season.
“We’re still dry, and we still have a high fire potential,” he said.
Rosenbaum hopes the coming months are less active.
As of Thursday afternoon, the fire was 50% contained.
Officials are still unsure when the fire will be contained, but they hope to clear it by Friday or Saturday.
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