Fire crews work to contain brush fire

WEST MIAMI-DADE, Fla. (WSVN) -- Crews have nearly contained a brush fire that has burned through hundreds of acres in West Miami-Dade.

As of Tuesday morning, a fire that began near Southwest Eighth Street and 137th Avenue and spread west was 80 percent contained. According to officials, the fire ignited sometime around 3 p.m. Monday, and in a matter of hours, it burned over a hundred acres.

The Florida Forest Service reported that as much as 200 acres of brush had burned by Monday night.

The area is full of dense Melaleuca trees, which are known to burn hot and fast. The blaze was fueled by extremely dry conditions and high winds in the area, which caused the fire to jump the 147th Avenue canal. "The conditions out there are so dry that any little, tiny things that you could do a few weeks ago, you cannot do now," said Scott Peterich of the Florida Forest Service. "It's extremely dry out there."

Thick, black smoke billowed hundreds of feet into the sky and could be seen for miles around, Monday evening. The fire was so large that it could be seen from as far as Miami Beach. "I said to my girlfriend, 'Let's go check it out,'" said Faye Burns, who had to see the fire for herself.

Another woman said, "Insane, crazy. It's a disaster, yes."

Firefighters used water and tractors known as bombardiers to gain control of the blaze. However, once the fire died down, it ignited once again. One on-looker said, "Of course I had to stop. It looks really crazy. I've never seen so much smoke so close. It looks crazy."

No one was injured in the fire.

Investigators believe residents in the area may have inadvertently started the blaze.

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