Lightning fire in Everglades grows past 5,000 acres west of Broward
Smoke from the Atlantic fire spread over western Broward as crews held the Everglades blaze to about half containment. The fire topped 5,000 acres near the Sawgrass Expressway.
Smoke from the Atlantic fire spread over western Broward as the Everglades blaze pushed past 5,000 acres near the Sawgrass Expressway and Atlantic Boulevard, just west of Tamarac, Sunrise and Coral Springs.
The fire started Sunday afternoon, June 28, after lightning struck dry brush in the Everglades. Florida Forest Service data put the blaze at 4,755 acres in one June 30 update, with containment at 0% in a morning report. Later updates put containment at about 50%.
The fire was not threatening homes or businesses, and there were no mandatory evacuation orders, evacuation warnings or road closures tied to it. Smoke remained the main concern for Broward, where moderate particulate levels were expected and Broward County Emergency Management and the Broward County Air Quality Program were tracking conditions through the county’s monitoring network and state wildfire-air-quality tools.
Broward County has told people with respiratory issues and pregnant women to stay indoors as much as possible when smoke affects air quality, keep windows and doors closed and limit outdoor activity. Smoke from the Everglades has already affected interior South Florida this month, following other fires that triggered air-quality alerts, road closures and voluntary evacuations in Miami-Dade and Broward counties.
The fire is unfolding during severe drought conditions in Broward County, where dry vegetation in the Everglades can turn a single lightning strike into a fast-moving brush fire. Crews have been using reconnaissance flights and drones to watch weather changes and the chance of wind shifts, while damp swamp conditions have also made some heavy equipment harder to use. The blaze follows a May Everglades fire in western Broward that burned 11,443 acres and reached 80% containment, and a 2025 wildfire that scorched nearly 50,000 acres before it was fully contained.
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