Mile Marker 40 fire burns 4,400 acres in west Broward County
Smoke from the Mile Marker 40 fire spread across western Broward as crews held the Everglades blaze to 20% containment and an air-quality alert stayed in effect.
The Mile Marker 40 fire had burned 4,400 acres in western Broward County and was 20% contained, sending smoke across the U.S. 27 corridor and into an area already under an air-quality alert. The blaze was burning in the Everglades west of U.S. 27, about 10 miles north of Interstate 75, near the Sawgrass Expressway and Commercial Boulevard.
Residents in Tamarac, Coral Springs and Pembroke Pines saw the smoke plume, and some reported ash on cars and in surrounding areas as the fire pushed through dry grassland. Authorities said at points there was no immediate threat to homes or businesses, and no injuries were reported, but drivers were being told to watch for road closures and changing conditions along major west Broward routes.
The fire’s footprint changed quickly over the course of reporting. An earlier update put it at 2,240 acres near the Sawgrass Expressway and Commercial Boulevard. Another update said it had grown to more than 3,600 acres with 0% containment, followed by reports that it had topped 4,000 acres and later reached 4,400 acres with the Florida Forest Service listing it at 20% contained.
Crews from Miami-Dade Fire Rescue, Broward Sheriff’s Fire Rescue and the Florida Forest Service worked to protect nearby properties and surrounding areas as dry conditions helped the wildfire spread. The fast-moving growth revived a familiar concern for west Broward neighborhoods and the Everglades edge: whether county fire and land-management agencies are ready for the kind of dry-season brush fire that can move from open marsh toward busy roads and homes in a matter of hours.
The fire was also described as the second Broward County blaze to spark in the Everglades in the past three weeks. With smoke still visible for miles and the air-quality alert in place, the focus stayed on keeping the fire line west of U.S. 27 and limiting disruption to commuters and nearby neighborhoods.
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