SOUTH MIAMI-DADE, FLA. (WSVN) - The brush fire that has been burning in South Miami-Dade for over a week continues to burn with no end in sight.
Multiple agencies were on the ground Thursday trying to slow down the fierce flames that have engulfed tens of thousands of acres to date.
According to the Florida Forest Service, 26,000 acres have burned, with the fire only 30% contained as of Thursday night.
Officials have shut down Card Sound Road in both directions due to the ongoing threat of the fire. U.S. 1 has reopened but officials said it could see intermittent closures.
The closures have led to gridlocked traffic. Drivers who encountered closures parked at gas stations or shops in the area while they waited for the roads to reopen.
7News cameras captured several helicopters dumping thousands of gallons of water on the blaze.
The pilots explained some of the challenges that they’ve experienced.
“Smoke in the area, decreased visibility, other units operating in the area, congested flight path, other aircrafts that we have to watch out for,” said Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Air Rescue Acting Chief Pilot Bob Wallis.
Miami-Dade officials said crews have five helicopters and an additional support plane from Tennessee battling the flames.
Despite the large area burning, officials said, no homes or businesses are in danger.
Officials said they are keeping an eye on the high winds with speeds of up to 18 miles per hour. The winds are shifting the smoke of the fire into some areas of southern Miami-Dade.
“It changes. We have to keep abreast of what’s happening to see which areas are threatened and which areas are safe,” said Wallis.
Bond agrees, saying that the fire continues to be an uphill battle due to the constant changing of the winds.
“We’ve had northeast and then southwest, and then it’s gonna move again,” she said.
Florida Power & Light trucks were also seen in the area repairing burned power lines that have caused some outages in the area.
Video provided by 7News viewers shows the bad visibility on U.S. 1.
“Look at the flames shooting up out there, holy [expletive],” said Angel Velazquez.
He told 7News that he hopes people leave their homes early before getting stuck in standstill traffic.
“I suggest leaving really early in the morning; that’s the only way you’re going to beat this traffic, and then, the later on it gets during the day, the worse traffic’s going to get,” said Velazquez.
One Homestead resident said he had to miss work due to U.S. 1 shutting down.
“It was pretty, pretty bad because I couldn’t make it to work to provide for the family,” he said.
Firefighters said they expect to be on the ground throughout the day and night until they get the fire under control.
Officials have extra tips for people preparing for these next few weeks of dry season.
“Now is the time, in these windy, dry conditions, clean combustibles, move them away from your house, clean off your gutters and roofs, and stay tuned to your county’s alert system,” said Bond.
Florida Forest Service officials also advise residents against flying personal drones above or into the smoke, as it makes crews’ ability to fight the flames even harder.
The City of Homestead said the fire will not affect the NASCAR event happening this weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
The National Weather Service in Miami has issued a Brush Fire Watch for Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties, which will go into effect from Friday morning through Friday evening.
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