Crews Monitor Scene Of Massive Dade Brush Fire
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) -- Fire crews returned to the scene where a brush fire burned 400 acres in southwest Miami-Dade the day before.
Miami-Dade Fire crews cleared the scene at 1 a.m. on Friday and returned earlier this morning to check for a possible rekindle of the fire. Only a few hot spots could be seen smoldering; however, officials said it could easily change.
"Once the sun starts to heat up and humidity drops, fire activity will probably start to go up," said Gabriel Llamas with the Florida Forest Service.
After hours of battling the blaze, by early Friday evening, crews had contained the massive fire near 167th Avenue and SW 56th Street.
"We had approximately four bombardiers, soft track two dozers and we stayed out until 1 o'clock in the morning reinforcing the line," said Llamas.
At one point, the fire had spread past Krome Avenue.
Due to the blaze, officials closed down 167th Avenue from Miller Drive to SW 47th Street and Krome Avenue from SW 8th Street to Kendall Drive. Those roadways have since been reopened.
Official are saying the fire is under control; however, they would like to send a message to all who ride their four wheeler's in the area to be aware of the extremely dry conditions because a good time could lead to a fiery situation.
"Maintain your vehicles. Make sure the exhaust system is up and working properly. Do not stand around idling over grass," said Llamas.
Officials said the cause of the fire is still under investigation; however, it is likely it was started by one of the four wheelers. They have ruled out that it was caused by lightning because there were no lightning storms in the area on Thursday.
Fire crews will be out at the scene all day monitoring the situation.
