We went from Cutler Bay, our home which is south of Miami, to Tarpon Springs on the west coast of Florida, Friday for a weekend visit with family, traveling across "Alligator Alley" (I-75) to the west coast of Florida. There was thick smoke and haze over entire trip. We could hardly see the famous the Skyway Bridge.
On the way back today, Sunday, not only thick smoke, but on I-75, we saw several fires.. even the median strip on fire.. and one firetruck there. We had to slow to a crawl for quite a distance, big cinders, choking smoke, our eyes burning. Several cars had their hazard lights on. Finally we got through that. We stopped at the Miccosukee gas station oasis (over $3.00 a gal.) about half way through Alligator Alley. It was cool and windy, dust blowing around. It's rarely cool there this time of year. Maybe the fires were sucking up the air causing a strong breeze? Sometime later along way we actually had a little sunshine! Then dark clouds to the east... and ... oh, no.. several bolts of lightening.
Where there's lightening and dry, dry Everglades.. there'll be more fire.
Our beautiful Everglades.. going up in smoke. Pray rain!
deexxoo
Wildfire smoke closes Florida highways
6 minutes ago
Authorities briefly reopened two highways crossing north Florida into Georgia on Sunday before dense wildfire smoke forced them to again halt traffic, while hundreds of Florida residents waited to return to their threatened homes.
Officials said Sunday that the wildfire that had raced through the Okefenokee Swamp in southeast Georgia and into Florida had charred more than 233,700 acres — or about 365 square miles — since it was started by lightning a week ago.
Authorities reopened 90 miles of Interstates 75 and 10 for a couple of hours Sunday morning after wind helped push the heavy smoke away from the highways. But they were later forced to close 35 miles of I-75 from the Florida-Georgia state line to Lake City, Fla., as well as a 40-mile stretch of I-10 in Florida, from Live Oak to Sanderson.
A 15-mile stretch of I-75 from Valdosta, Ga., to the Florida state line remained open Sunday.
About 570 residents were not being allowed to return to 150 homes evacuated between I-10 and the Florida-Georgia state line.
The fire started May 5 in the middle of the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge. It took just six days to grow larger than another wildfire that has burned nearly 121,000 acres of Georgia forest and swampland over more than three weeks. The small fire was started by a tree falling on a power line.
The Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge and Georgia's Steven C. Foster State Park inside it remained closed. Haze from the fires had traveled as far south as the Miami area, about 340 miles away.
The smoky skies over South Florida have disoriented birds, causing many to fly into buildings, wildlife experts said. More than 100 warblers and other small birds found injured on the ground have been brought to the Pelican Harbor Seabird Station in Miami to recover, said Wendy Fox, the agency's executive director.
"The smoke's not good for anybody, but obviously, it's throwing something off for them," Fox said.
Elsewhere, a blaze feeding on drought-stricken forest in northern Minnesota was only 15 percent contained as of Sunday. The fire had burned a combined 93 square miles in Minnesota and nearby Canada. Meteorologists said there was a 60 percent of thunderstorms Sunday night. The storms weren't expected to bring enough rain to counterbalance the danger from high winds and lightning.
"We don't think the rain is going to help us a whole lot," said Mark Van Every, a spokesman for the firefighting effort.
The fire had closed about half of the 57-mile-long Gunflint Trail, a key route from Grand Marais into the Boundary Waters Canoe Area wilderness that is dotted with resorts and lake homes.
A fire jumped a defense line designed to keep it away from 20 or so homes on Loon Lake on Sunday, and helicopters dumped water on the flames to contain it. By Sunday evening, fire officials said, the lines were holding and there had been no new losses of buildings.
Officials said Sunday the fire had destroyed 133 buildings, including 61 residences. They estimated the value of buildings lost at $3.7 million.
Off the coast of Southern California, continued cool weather Sunday helped firefighters on Santa Catalina Island maintain control of a blaze that had threatened the resort community of Avalon.
The 4,200-acre or 6.5-square-mile fire was 69 percent contained Sunday and was expected to be encircled by Tuesday evening, Los Angeles County Fire Inspector Scott Ross said. One home and six businesses burned Thursday but no one was seriously injured.
Copyright © 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
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