Southwest Miami-Dade brush fire disrupts travelers as flames, smoke force major road closures
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue and the Florida Forest Service are still trying to put out a wildfire that sparked up over the weekend in southwestern Miami-Dade County.
The fire shut down Southwest 8th Street since Saturday afternoon and has since reopened. Meanwhile, Krome Avenue from US-27 to Tamiami Trail is still closed.
Road closures are impacting people's weekend plans
Mary said she had an appointment at 8 a.m. to visit her relative at the Everglades Reentry Center Prison. But cones and the Florida Highway Patrol had closed off her only way to get there on Southwest 8th Street.
"Ain't telling me nothing, but I knew I can't go through that scene," she said.
CBS News Miami told her why: It's a forest fire that has been burning since Saturday night. It had burned through 450 acres as of Sunday afternoon.
Smoke was visible in the morning as MDFR kept putting out hot spots from the air. Mary said she had to schedule her visit at the prison a week in advance, and now she said she likely will have to reschedule.
"We left home really early — six o'clock this morning," Mary said. "We get down here and we get in a line."
Southwest 8th Street opened around 10 a.m. That was good news for airboat tours since that's the only way to get to them. One owner told CBS News Miami that if the road was closed any longer, it would have caused problems for those with rides scheduled.
FHP only allowed people through if they lived nearby or were working in the area.
James Millings had planned to take his family visiting from Georgia on a fishing trip in the Florida Everglades. But his only way in was closed off.
"Too bad," Millings said. "I was hoping to take back a whole cooler full of fish."
Millings had to settle for fishing at a creek next to the blockade until the road opened. He stayed optimistic while waiting.
"At least the smoke isn't coming this way because my wife has asthma," Millings said.
Southwest 8th Street is open again, but fire rescue personnel are still urging people with respiratory problems to stay away.
The fire happened near the Krome Detention Center for immigration and customs enforcement detainees. The agency said the fire didn't cause any evacuations.
