A brush fire that began in West Miami-Dade has grown sharply into a much larger and more complex firefight, with crews now battling two separate blazes from the air. The main fire, now known as the Quarry Fire, has expanded from about 600 acres to roughly 2,000 acres, while a second fire that flared nearby has added to the strain on resources. The effort has turned into a joint operation, with helicopters from Miami-Dade, Broward and Forestry all working the fires.
Forestry officials say the Quarry Fire could grow much larger. With dry conditions, they warned it could balloon to as much as 12,000 acres. They described a fire that is burning well and has a lot of space to spread, noting there are no canals or breaks to stop it. If it does not get rain, they said, it is likely to burn for several days and get significantly bigger than it is now.
The second blaze, called the Well Fire, is the newest of the two. It is burning just north of Northwest 58th Street and west of the Turnpike, and over the course of the day it grew from about 250 acres to 450 acres. Forestry officials believe a lightning strike a couple of days ago may have sparked it, and that it blew up on Tuesday. The fire was being monitored from early afternoon, with a fresh plume seen rising as it spread out.
Both fires were reported to be roughly 20 to 21 percent contained. Much of the work is being done from the air because the ground is too wet to bring in equipment and operate safely, and crews say getting stuck near the fire is dangerous. That has left the helicopter water drops from the three agencies as the main tool for trying to slow the flames.
With wind coming from the south, the smoke was pushed north into Broward County. Video showed a haze hanging over Pompano Beach, and players at a local pickleball court reported smelling the strong odor of smoke, with officials saying they could possibly smell it again on Wednesday. Some residents said that when they woke up they thought there was a fire in their own neighborhood and went looking for the source.
Despite the size of the fires, officials pointed to one piece of good news. There are no homes or businesses in the immediate area where the fires are burning, which lowers the risk to property. The bigger concern, they said, is the wind, which can carry the smoke up into northern Miami-Dade as well as Broward County and affect people far from the flames.
Fire officials again urged caution over the smoke, advising anyone with health concerns to stay inside if there is a lot of smoke in their area, since the particles it carries can harm the lungs. The fire had earlier blown multiple transformers and prompted a nearby business to send workers home, and with no rain expected in the immediate area in the short term, authorities said the situation remained active and developing.