FLORIDA CITY, Fla. – Traffic was steady Friday morning as the 18-Mile Stretch of U.S. 1 reopened in south Miami-Dade amid an ongoing brush fire that’s burned 25,000 acres of land.
But officials said intermittent closures are likely and urged the public to stay away from the area if possible. As of Friday afternoon, the blaze was 30% contained.
The closures of U.S. 1 and Card Sound Road, the only ways in and out of the Florida Keys, have caused serious traffic tie-ups and have led to stranded drivers.
“Missing work and everything, it’s pretty bad because I couldn’t work and provide for the family, I had to turn around and get into all the traffic and it was just — ugh, man,” one driver said.
All day Thursday, firefighters battled the flames from multiple brush fires. Because of the strong winds and hot, dry and muggy conditions, it was the perfect combination for the fires to keep growing.
“This fire is a wind-driven fire,” Ludie Bond, with the Florida Forest Service, said. “And we’ve seen in a week it’s gone from 700 acres to 24,000 acres, so the winds have been shifting.”
Officials are warning South Florida residents to plan accordingly for possible closures and lengthy stops over the next few days.
“This is a very swampy area and the ground doesn’t necessarily support our really heavy equipment, so we’re choosing the areas where we’re able to go in on the ground very carefully to keep our firefighters safe,” Bond said.
Because of the dry conditions, officials are also warning residents to avoid throwing out anything that might ignite a fire, like a cigarette butt.
They’re also asking people to refrain from flying drones in the area, as crews are flying helicopters and their own drones to help tackle the flames and personal drones could hinder those efforts.