Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
HAZED AND CONFUSED
Smoke from an Everglades wildfire blankets S. Florida, reduces air quality
Don’t be surprised to see more ash on your car today.
Smoke as thick as fog blanketed West Palm Beach to Miami on Monday, generated by a 19,500 south of the Palm Beach-Broward county line.
It sprinkled ash on lawns, driveways and cars and cut visibility to a quarter of a mile on roadways. Health officials urged residents to remain indoors, in air-conditioning, until the smoke clears.
“I’ve never seen smoke like this before,” said Scott Peterich, spokesman for the Florida Forest Service, adding that firefighters are mainly monitoring the fire rather than attempting to battle it. “It’s so massive that about the only thing we can do is hope that it burns itself out.”
While there was a storm near the fire on Monday afternoon, it didn’t produce enough rain to slow it down. Instead, its winds pushed the flames to the east, threatening the Florida Power and Light power lines that run along U.S. 27, Peterich said.
The fire, possibly ignited by a lightning strike, broke out on Saturday afternoon about five mileswest of U.S. 27 and five miles north of Alligator Alley. By Monday, it covered almost 30 square miles.
Though part of the blaze was spreading north, fire officials said a canal and levy should keep it from spreading to Palm Beach County.
Helping to nurture the fire were light winds early in the day and a slight temperature inversion, holding the smoke near the ground, said Bob Ebaugh, of the National Weather Service in Miami.
“Until we start getting some sort of velocity on the wind, we’re going to continue in murky conditions,” he said.
Because the county’s air quality deteriorated to the “moderate” range, the health department suggested those with respiratory problems remain indoors.
“People working outside shouldn’t overexert themselves,” said spokesman Tim O’Connor. “If you start experiencing any symptoms, you might want to go inside.”
A lack of rain in the past week has made conditions prime for wildfire, drying out the sawgrass and other swamp vegetation, officials said. The rainy season started in late May, but the region this month has received about .5 inches less rain than normal.
The Florida Highway Patrol temporarily closed U.S. 27 from Interstate 75 to the Palm Beach County line on Monday morning, whenthe smoke was thickest. The highway was reopened at 8:30 a.m.
Peterich, of the Forest Service, said the pungent odor of smoke started filling the air in West Palm Beach on Saturday night.
“I thought it was a local fire,” he said. “But then I called dispatch and found out it was in Broward County.”
Dan Shalloway, of Palm Beach Shores, said he could see the smoke far to the west of his home but couldn’t smell it.
“We live a half block from the ocean, so we’ve got that breeze,” he said.