A small blaze in south Miami-Dade County — initially reported on March 12 — spiraled out of control into an inferno that burned 26,000 acres by March 21.
Despite the flames remaining on the Miami-Dade side between the 18-Mile Stretch and Card Sound Road, the wildfire brought the heat to the Florida Keys as the workday was ending on March 18. As the smoke and flames encroached on the only two thoroughfares between mainland Florida and Key Largo, the rapidly-spreading wildfire closed Card Sound Road on four straight days. Police were also forced to shut down the 18-Mile Stretch intermittently between Florida City and Key Largo from March 18 to March 21 to give crews space to fight the flames.
There were moments where no cars were entering or leaving via the 18-Mile Stretch or Card Sound Road. Closures hindered locals from reaching their homes and outside workers from getting to and from their jobs in the Keys. Visitors faced troubles reaching their destinations, whether it be their hotel on the island chain or the airport in Miami.
Intense firefighting — from the ground and air — over the course of five days resulted in the wildfire being 80% contained by March 22. Road closures ceased as traffic moved again on the Stretch and Card Sound Road. Smoky conditions remained for several days.
The cause of the blaze remains unknown as of press time on March 26, but weather conditions weren’t helping Miami-Dade Fire Rescue and the Florida Forest Service crews’ battle. The National Weather Service in Miami said a long spurt of dry weather, mixed with low humidity and windy conditions aided the wildfire’s wrath on more than 26,000 acres of natural land in between the 18-Mile Stretch and Card Sound Road.
The forest service said its helicopters made roughly 1,435 water drops, while large air tankers made seven retardant drops at 3,000 gallons per drop. Miami-Dade Fire Rescue also had its helicopters conducting many water drops, while tankers and fire trucks sprayed water on fires near the highways.
On Card Sound Road, flames charred and damaged power poles spanning 4 miles. While electricity never went out for Keys residents, Comcast customers saw an internet and TV outage beginning the evening of March 18 due to downed lines. When deemed safe, Comcast crews deployed to restore service to customers. The lines were back up and service was back by 9 a.m. the next day.
“It was a pretty big restoration,” said Jorge Nieves, Comcast tech operations supervisor. “The biggest obstacle was the fire and making sure it was safe for us to go in there and get to work.”
Despite the fire being reported a week prior as minimal and 80% contained, Monroe County emergency management officials didn’t receive notification that the wildfire was affecting Monroe County, namely through the closure of U.S. 1, until 8 p.m. on March 18.
“We made contact with the State Watch Office to stress the importance that if there’s any impact Florida City south that is going to affect U.S. 1 in any shape or form, that we need to be notified just as a precaution,” Cory Schwisow, county emergency management deputy director, said during a March 25 county commission meeting in Key Largo.
In addition, Schwisow said information coming out of Miami-Dade County was contradictory for the first 24 hours. An incident command center was set up in Miami-Dade on March 19, which was when county emergency officials started receiving effective communication.
