U.S. 1 reopens after second closure due to brush fire near Keys. Card Sound Road shut down
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Massive Miami-Dade brush fire raged for days; burned over 26,000 acres
The Florida Forest Service, Miami-Dade Fire Rescue and Monroe County Fire Rescue spent more than a week in mid-March battling a 26,000-acre brush fire that caused full road closures of the Florida Keys and polluted air with smoke.
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U.S. 1 into the Florida Keys has reopened again Wednesday afternoon after being closed for about 45 minutes due to a large brush fire in Florida City that has not been contained. The fire has led authorities to keep Card Sound Road closed.
Traffic had been slowly trickling back into the Keys Wednesday morning on the 18-Mile Stretch between Florida City in south Miami-Dade and Key Largo in Monroe County before authorities closed the highway down again around 4 p.m. They reopened the highway around 40 minutes later.
Authorities warned that U.S. 1 into Monroe County could see delays and intermittent closures over the next few days due to the fire.
As of Wednesday afternoon, the fire covered about 4,000 acres and was only 20% contained, officials said.
Both U.S. 1 and Card Sound Road leading into Key Largo were closed Tuesday afternoon in both directions. They are the only two roads to enter or exit the the Florida Keys from mainland Miami-Dade County. Officials reopened U.S. 1 Tuesday evening but kept Card Sound Road closed before shutting down U.S. 1 again temporarily on Wednesday afternoon.
The blaze was on the Miami-Dade portion of Card Sound Road, which starts in Florida City and goes into Key Largo, a 20-plus mile stretch, according to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office. Monroe County officials said they did not have an ETA for when Card Sound Road would reopen.
The fire began last Wednesday but grew with recent high winds and dry weather, said Michelle Danielson with the Florida Forest Service.
Smoke from the fire could be seen for miles north by drivers heading south on Florida’s Turnpike Tuesday afternoon. Bennett Lessmann, 39, an attorney from Boca Raton, was headed to Marathon in the Middle Keys to catch up with his wife and four children when he saw the plume.
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“As I was driving down the Turnpike, I could see the smoke for miles,” Lessmann said. “But, the way the highway turns, you can’t tell where the fire is.”
The road closures turned Florida City into a parking lot, with cars sitting idle along the roads in front of the RaceTrac gas station and the Last Chance Saloon, on the southbound shoulder of U.S. 1. The congestion and traffic chaos were similar to when Keys residents tried to go back home after evacuating for Hurricane Irma in September 2017.
Tom Richards, 77, and his friends Ronnie and Patsy Boggess, 82 and 80, respectively, drove up to the mainland Tuesday morning for doctor appointments. When they reached Florida City, deputies had shut down both routes home.
“Right as we got here, they closed the damn road,” Richards said. “If we hadn’t stopped to eat, we’d already be in the Keys by now.”
Cody Hinkle, 25, got out of his GMC SUV, sitting in the right lane of U.S. 1 just about a half mile before the 18-Mile Stretch, to have a cigarette. He knew he wasn’t going anywhere for a while. He and three friends were heading to the Keys for spring break from Kansas City. They, too, saw the smoke from the Turnpike but weren’t sure what to make of it.
“I thought it was just clouds, and when we came down here the roads were shut down,” Hinkle said.
Dry conditions fuel fires
On Monday, the National Weather Service issued red-flag fire warnings for Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach and Monroe counties due to low humidity and lack of rain. The weather service said Wednesday a new fire alert for Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties will go into effect from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday.
READ MORE: South Florida will see fire warning as weather conditions could mean more blazes: NWS
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue has also spent recent days informing residents of the risk.
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“We are currently experiencing perfect conditions for increased risk of brush fires to start or to propagate,” said Erika Benitez, spokesperson for Miami-Dade Fire Rescue. “Oftentimes, these conditions can change quickly and may lead to road closures. If you have any respiratory conditions, stay away from smoky areas — close your windows, close your doors and keep your air conditioning unit on re-circulating mode.”
Miami Herald Staff Writer Milena Malaver contributed to this story.
This story was originally published March 18, 2025 at 4:30 PM.
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