WEST MIAMI-DADE, FLA. (WSVN) – Emergency crews are battling a grass fire that sparked south of the Tamiami Trail in West Miami-Dade.
7News cameras captured flames from a distance in what officials are calling the “Highway 41 Fire,” all day on Tuesday.
According to the National Park Service, the blaze was first discovered roughly five miles west of Krome Avenue, at around 5:15 p.m. on Monday.
As night fell on Tuesday, orange flames shined and thick gray smoke filled the sky.
Firefighters attacked the flames by ground and by air, as they worked to contain the flames that continued to inch closer to the road.
Cameras captured one plane after another flying over the flames, dumping gallons of water onto the fire.
Crews also sprayed water on the Coopertown Restaurant as flames ignited behind the business. Owner Jesse Kennon said his business had to close on Tuesday for safety.
“Right now, it’s not as bad as it was earlier this morning. This morning, you couldn’t even see the building itself. The smoke was that bad,” said Kennon. “They started hosing down all the brush that was close to it to make it as wet as possible so it wasn’t totally dry and that helped curb the fire.”
Despite the intense fight on Tuesday, the fire only grew. What started as 450 acres on Monday expanded to over 5,000 acres by Tuesday night.
Kennon said the flames came close to his business.
“By the time the sun came up [Tuesday] morning, it warmed back up and it just rekindled itself and grew real quickly,” he said. “When it comes closer and closer like that, you feel the heat.”
As of late Tuesday night, the flames are 0% contained, officials said. The wind is fortunately pushing the smoke away from Tamiami Trail.
“We have buildings that have been here since the [19]40s and you got to realize these buildings compared to modern buildings are kind of dry. So it doesn’t take a lot to ignite them. And we have tiki huts that have palm fronds and things of that nature and they can ignite really easily,” said Kennon.
Since the blaze ignited on federal land, it is being taken care of by the National Park Service, with assistance from Miami-Dade Fire Rescue.
The fire has also shut down parts of Everglades Park. Elaina Weisberg is the owner of Gator Park. She said officials told her to close down until further notice.
“We have residents, they’ve been to Gator Park and we can see right outside the back door we have a fire,” she said.
She said she fears the winds could shift and the fire begins threatening structures.
“We can lose everything, including the buildings, boats and everything we have,” said Weisberg. “We’re hoping we still have Gator Park after this is done.”
The cause is still undetermined, but no injuries have been reported.
Drivers traveling along the Tamiami Trail may experience smoke impacts, according to the National Park Service.
If conditions worsen, officials said they may issue road closures in the area.
Meteorologists said recent dry conditions have set the stage for this fire, and no heavy precipitation is expected until Sunday.
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