Wildfires cause weekend of road closures across Florida

March 6, 2017

MIAMI, Fla. (AP) -- Officials say at least one large brush fire is still burning in South Florida following a weekend of road closures across the state.

Florida Forest Service spokesman Scott Peterich tells the Miami Herald someone likely started a fire in southwest Miami-Dade County that spread to nearly 700 acres Sunday. On Sunday afternoon, the fire jumped a road and briefly posed a threat to nearby structures, including Krome Detention Center and the Everglades Correctional Institution.

Peterich says the fire is likely to pick up again Monday because of wind patterns.

Farther north, a stretch of Interstate 95 in Palm Beach County was closed Sunday afternoon because of a nearby wildfire. And the Florida Highway Patrol closed Florida's Turnpike south of Orlando for hours Saturday afternoon because of smoky conditions.