As a wildfire continues burning through the Everglades west of Broward County, residents and tourists shared their thoughts on the growing flames, which have now burned more than twice the size of Disney World.
Angelina De Ridder is visiting Florida from the Netherlands. She told CBS News Miami that this is the first wildfire she’s driven through.
“I never saw it before over here,” De Ridder said. “It’s pretty intense.”
She’s heading up north to Pompano Beach and is hoping the smoke doesn’t follow her family there. Broward officials have reported that the air quality is moderate, so individuals sensitive to airborne particles should limit their time outside.
Concerns about air quality grow
CBS News Miami asked De Ridder if she is concerned about whether the air is dangerous to breathe.
“Well, if it gets bigger than this, yeah,” she said.
Crews are still dousing the flames. It started out as two separate fires on Monday.
Construction worker Miles Murphy said the air is now tolerable.
“Yesterday felt kind of Armageddon-y. Doomsday, when you’re coming over the bridge, everything was kinda blacked out,” he told CBS News Miami. “It’s a little easier to breathe today.”
Ash is visible, but unseen particles are worse
People found ash particles on their cars, and Monica Pognon of Broward County Natural Resources said you should be more worried about the particles you can’t see. She told CBS News Miami the wind direction will dictate how dangerous the air is.
“When we are getting winds out of the west, we tend to see that the particle pollution is higher because of the wildfire,” Pognon said. “When we start getting our easterly winds, which is normal for Broward County, we start seeing the levels go down.”
No injuries or property damage reported
Forest officials said the fire is not impacting anyone’s property and no injuries have been reported. Fire officials said the fire will likely just burn itself out when it runs out of fuel.
