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Card Sound Road Reopens Again

FLORIDA CITY (CBSMiami) - Card Sound Road, that was shut down again Monday due to a brush fire, reopened Monday night according to the Monroe County Sheriff's Office.

The fire, which firefighters have been battling since Saturday, has burned more than 1,200 acres and is only 40-percent contained.

As of Monday late afternoon, the northern part of the fire was contained but it was still spreading on the southern portion.

Earlier Monday, according to the Florida Highway Patrol, the fire was burning on the Miami-Dade side of the County line and the crackling sounds, flames and heat can be heard, seen and felt from Card Sound Road.

"With the super dry conditions, any fire that gets started down there, it's continuing on through the night and into the next day," said Gary Lewis with the Florida Forest Service.

Firefighters Monday were monitoring the situation from the ground and from the air.

"Aerial observation type going on right now letting us know from the air what type of fuels the fire is running into, hopefully it's going to run into some thinner fuels, maybe a previous burn from last year, maybe it'll slow it down a little bit," said Lewis.

The fire started on the south side of Card Sound Road. Firefighters were able to put it out but before doing so, the fire jumped to the south bound side and officials said the ground conditions are making it difficult to put out.

"The ground is super soft between the two roads which makes it difficult for our equipment to get. We got one stuck in there right now, we're trying to get it loose. It is difficult to put the fire out," explained Lewis.

Officials shutdown Card Sound Road because of the amount of smoke and conditions which make it dangerous for drivers as well as firefighters trying to put it out.

"We have to be careful, by putting people in front of the fire, if you get stuck that is a bad situation for a firefighter to be in," said Lewis.

Firefighters are working on making sure the fire doesn't reach U.S. 1.

Investigators say they believe arson is the cause of the fire.

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