South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Sunday)
Brush fire in Broward still growing
Officials expect inferno to be contained soon
WESTON — A brush fire that erupted near the Miami-Dade and Broward county line earlier this week continued spreading on Saturday evening, potentially affecting drivers and residents.
With black smoke billowing behind him, Kevin MacEwen, district manager for the Florida Forest Service Everglades District, said that by Saturday evening, the fire known as L-30, had grown from 10,600 acres on Friday evening to 13,500 acres and was 65% contained.
As of Saturday evening, the inferno was approaching the intersection of U.S. 27 and the western end of Griffin Road, the intersection bordering the eastern perimeter of Everglades Holiday Park, northwest Pembroke Pines and southwest Weston.
MacEwen, speaking just west
of the 27-Griffin intersection, added that he expected the fire to be contained before it were to reach the L-67 levee, which runs north-south, parallel to U.S. 27 on its western side, but expressed concern for driving conditions along the road.
What caused the fire that started Wednesday evening is not yet known. Everglades Holiday Park was closed at 6 p.m. on Saturday due to the blaze.
By Friday evening, it had spread north from Krome Avenue in Miami-Dade, then toward the Broward County line and expanded into southwest Broward, district spokesman David Rosenbaum said.
The Holly Lakes neighborhood
in Pembroke Pines had been threatened, but “we burned out the fire before it reached Holly Lakes and redirected it away and that is why the fire is going north now,” MacEwen said.
The Forest Service and Florida Highway Patrol have placed smoke warning signs on Krome Avenue in Miami-Dade and on U.S. 27.
While there had been rain in some forecasts for the weekend, none had fallen on the affected area as of Saturday evening.
“The big question is will these winds create a smoke problem where the residents will be affected by a light smoke odor, still enough to create a disturbance,” Rosenbaum said Friday.