Wildfires in South Florida counties spread, burning nearly 22,000 acres

Wildfires in Broward and Palm Beach counties are continuing to spread, burning nearly 22,000 acres west of Sunrise and west of Boca Raton in the Everglades by Friday afternoon.

The Florida Forest Service reported about 21,700 total acres burning among the three fires — the 2 Bravo, 2 Alpha and L39. That increased from about 9,000 total acres late Thursday.

Though the fires will continue to burn, it is not uncommon to have fires that size in a large area of sawgrass, said David Rosenbaum, public information officer and mitigation specialist for the Everglades District of the Florida Forest Service.

Visibility on the Sawgrass Expressway had not been affected by the smoke, which was about five miles west of the road as of Friday afternoon, Rosenbaum said. Potential wind gusts Saturday could push smoke toward the road and residential areas in western Broward County.

Winds changed from an easterly direction Friday to a southwesterly direction, and with a front approaching from the north, Rosenbaum said the winds should steady through the weekend. When the winds steady, and with occasional gusts, “that’s what’s going to bring the smoke closer to the residents,” he said.

Residents with asthma or other breathing-related complications should stay indoors if the winds carry smoke to the east. No homes or business are in danger, Rosenbaum said.

Robert Garcia, senior meteorologist for the National Weather Service, said there’s a 50% chance of rain Saturday afternoon and evening in Palm Beach and northern Broward counties, but it remains to be seen whether it’ll be enough to lessen the blaze.

Wind speeds in the area of the fires Saturday are forecast to be between 10 and 15 mph, potentially reaching 20 mph, Garcia said, and thunderstorms could bring higher gusts.

“That’s something we’re watching … It can definitely allow fire to spread,” he said.

Each of the fires were caused by lightning strikes during Wednesday’s evening storms and were about 20% contained as of Friday afternoon, Rosenbaum said.

“Earlier [Thursday] morning some residents of western parts of Broward and Palm Beach county did experience some light smoke and faint odor of smoke as well as some light ash,” Rosenbaum said.

The fires aren’t being actively fought because they’re hard to access due to their remote locations. The Florida Forest Service is monitoring the fires from the ground and air, and working with the Florida Highway Patrol to make sure highways are safe from fire and smoke, Rosenbaum said.

The fire that seemed to cause the biggest

problem Thursday morning was 2 Bravo, a then-900-acre fire west of the Sawgrass Expressway and northwest of Markham Park in Conservation Area 2B. By Friday afternoon, it grew to 5,650 acres.

Residents in Coconut Creek, Parkland and Coral Springs reported seeing smoke and ash Friday, Broward County’s Natural Resource Division said in a tweet.

“There’s so much acreage out there that some of these fires can grow to 10,000 or 20,000 acres,” he said. “It really depends on the wind and how much winds carry the fire into these unburned areas.”

The 2 Alpha fire is burning in the southern portion of western Palm Beach County. That fire grew from 2,000 acres Thursday evening to 5,050 acres Friday afternoon and is causing smoke and ash to be blown into Boca Raton.

There is also an L39 fire that’s burning in Palm Beach County, west of levee 39. That blaze grew from 6,300 acres Friday morning to 11,000 acres by the afternoon, the Florida Forest Service reported.

Dry conditions have made parts of South Florida ripe for fire danger for more than a week. South Florida’s rainy season is generally regarded to begin May 15.

But Rosenbaum said lightning-generated wildfires remain a threat “until the thunderstorm activity generates enough moisture the fires don’t even have a chance to ignite because you get so much rain it’s very hard to get a fire. But it’ll still take a couple of weeks before that can happen.”