Editor’s Note: This is a 3:50 p.m update. This story is developing and will be updated as more information comes in.
Crews continue to battle a massive brush fire in neighboring Miami-Dade County. Card Sound Road remains closed, and so is the 18-Mile Stretch according to the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office.
One motorist told Keys Weekly they were attempting to drive into the Florida Keys via the Stretch before being turned around by Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office before 2 p.m. on Wednesday. A fleet of trucks were seen heading down Card Sound Road.
The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office said Wednesday afternoon that lengthy delays in both directions on the 18-Mile Stretch were expected as fire crews intermittently block traffic for fire mitigation and air water drops.
“Expect major delays on the 18-Mile Stretch,” said MCSO spokesman Adam Linhardt. “Avoid the area if you can.”
Traffic in and out of the Florida Keys was shut down for nearly five hours on Tuesday as a brush fire burned thousands of acres in southeast Miami-Dade County near the 18-Mile Stretch and Card Sound Road. Traffic had reopened on the Stretch yesterday evening, but Card Sound Road remained shut down.
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue and the Florida Fire Service arrived at the scene of a rapidly-spreading blaze just before 5 p.m. on Tuesday. With tankers and air support dropping water, crews battled the ferocious flames well into the evening. Card Sound Road was the first to close, and not long after that, the 18-Mile Stretch was shut down with the emergence of flames and heavy smoke. Dry weather and winds aided the fire’s ability to spread.
With closures lasting hours into Tuesday evening, Key Largo and Florida City turned into a massive parking lot as cars were unable to traverse the two main thoroughfares in and out of the Keys. In Key Largo, store and business parking lots were filled as motorists waited it out. The Winn Dixie parking lot at MM 105.3 filled up as people could be seen walking their dogs, eating and camping out, said Key Largo resident Emilie Caldwell Stewart.
On U.S. 1, vehicles were stacked northbound as far back as MM 99.
Traffic on the Stretch was eventually reopened around 9 p.m., although the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office advised motorists to avoid traveling if possible due to the smoke. Motorists were able to catch a glimpse of the blaze as they moved slowly on the Stretch.
Smells of smoke from the blaze in Miami-Dade went as far south as Islamorada. In the sky, clouds of smoke could be seen as the sun began to set Tuesday evening. Residents and motorists in the Upper Keys experienced some hazy conditions on Wednesday morning.
The cause of the blaze was not immediately known, although the National Weather Service issued fire warnings earlier in the week for most of Miami-Dade, with little to no rain failing in recent weeks and lower humidity levels. The warning wasn’t active at the time of the blaze, although conditions appeared ripe for increased risk of brush fires.
No injuries to persons or threats to buildings were reported.
The National Weather Service in Miami said Wednesday that relative humidity values will be dropping as low as 30% with gusty southwesterly winds. With most of South Florida under drought conditions, the weather service said this will lead to critical fire concerns Thursday afternoon.
“Any fires that develop could spread rapidly,” the National Weather Service said.
