The brush fire burning in southern Miami-Dade County didn’t cancel the NASCAR race at the Homestead-Miami Speedway this week, but it did force some small businesses to close down for a few days.
Card Sound Road and businesses nearby had been boarded up due to the flames that have flared up since Tuesday. As of Sunday evening, the fire has burned 26,719 acres and 80% contained.
Back to business
Chuck Wright and his wife Lori are driving down to Key West. They are glad they have an open road to drive there. Over the past week, both US-1 and Card Sound Road were intermittently closed off due to the brush fire.
“We were coming down one way or the other,” said Chuck Wright. “We might have to stay in our truck but here we are.”
They said they’re the first two customers to go to Alabama Jack’s in the last five days.
The bar and restaurant is right in the middle of Card Sound Road, which had been closed since the road was shut down in both directions. Sunday was their first day open since the fire.
“Just opened the gate when you guys pulled up,” said Mike Arnold, Alabama Jack’s general manager.
He said it was the worst time to have to close down.
“Pretty much climaxing right now on spring break, you have NASCAR in town,” Arnold said. “One of our biggest weeks and you just wiped it out completely. One hundred percent since Tuesday at 3 o’clock.”
Control is the goal
Card Sound Road is open again but that could always change depending on the circumstances. In the meantime, the goal for Florida Forest Service officials today is containment. They told CBS News Miami the fire is under control, but they do want to stop any hot spots from flaring up.
“There are areas of unbridled fuel in and around the fire,” said Lodie Bond of the Forest Service. “We did see one area in particular over by US-1.”
Miami-Dade firefighters are still assisting. The Forest Service said they would stay and keep the fire under control.
“‘Controlled’ means no visible smoke and no visible flame,” Bond said.
And, Bond said the forest service could be here for days, or even weeks, before the fire is completely out.
