VIDEO: A blanket of smoke was observed over parts of South Florida Wednesday morning as firefighters in West Broward worked to contain a brushfire in the Everglades, as westerly winds pushed all the smoke east into metro areas of Broward and Miami-Dade County.
It was a hazy start to the day as Florida Forest Service units responded to reports of a wildfire burning along Alligator Alley near mile marker 39. โLook at this smoke, thick blanket of smoke choking a lot of smoke this morning,โ said 7Skyforce Steven J. Gray.
Roughly 1,600 acres was charred, according to the Florida Forest Service. So far, officials said their focus is to keep the fire contained, though they are currently onsite and monitoring the blaze so it doesnโt affect any nearby structures or roadways, keeping it centered there in the everglades.
At this time, no structures are in danger and there isnโt an active threat to the public or the morning commute. Nonetheless, South Floridians still felt the effects as many woke up to the smell of smoke and their cars covered in ash. โWe both got nervous. We smelled something like definitely burning and we thought maybe there was actually a fire in the hotel,โ said a woman. โI asked the front desk and they told me โyea thereโs a fire in the Everglades.โ โOnce we got out the car it smelled very smokey like there was a fire going on and it got really, really cloudy. Very cloudy,โ said another woman.
