According to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, the 18-mile stretch 1 between the city of Florida and Key Largo was closed in both directions as it fought against fire morning and is growing.
The agency announced around 10:30am that the stretch was once again closed in both directions “due to ongoing fire mitigation,” and there was no estimated time for roads to reopen.
Monroe Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Adam Linhardt said that both sides of Card Sound Road, the only way inside and outside the key from the mainland, remained closed Thursday. Officials say they don’t know when the roads will reopen.
![The image, taken from a video provided by WSVN-TV, shows a brush fire burning across the Card Sound Road on Tuesday.](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 620 398"/%3E "The image, taken from a video provided by WSVN-TV, shows a brush fire burning across the Card Sound Road on Tuesday.")
The sheriff’s office warned drivers that delays and closures would progress until the fire was controlled.
Fire footprints expand
The fire began more than a week ago, but grew and strengthened due to dry air and strong winds.
Aerial monitoring of the fire carried out by the Florida Forest Service shows it is much greater than the staff that was originally estimated. On Wednesday, the Forest Service said it had burned about 4,000 acres, including 20%.
However, on Thursday, the Forest Service told the Miami Herald that the fire was burning 22,000 acres of brushes.
![In this image, taken from a video provided by WSVN-TV, the brush fire is burning along us as a helicopter carrying the aquarium flies south of Dade County towards the fire.](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 620 413"/%3E "In this image, taken from a video provided by WSVN-TV, the brush fire is burning along us as a helicopter carrying the aquarium flies south of Dade County towards the fire.")
The National Weather Service issued a red fire warning from 11am to 8pm on Thursday to Lake Okeechobee in most of South Florida, including Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties.
The NASCAR race is still running
The city of Homestead said the fire under the high voltage line has caused a short blackout and crews are working on repairs. Damage to some towers could affect mobile phones and internet services, the city said.
The city also said the NASCAR Cup Series, scheduled to take place at Homestead Miami Speedway this weekend, will continue as planned.
