If you thought you smelled smoke in the air on Saturday, you were not imagining things, nor were you alone.
Palm Beach County Fire Rescue’s Captain Albert Borroto issued a statement Saturday morning that it all originated in the Everglades.
“There are no active brush fires currently in the county. This smell of smoke is coming from fires outside the county and it is being pushed in by the weather front that was predicted to move in this weekend,” Borroto said.
Improvement is expected through mid-morning as daytime heating will increase the wind which will help the atmosphere mix and disperse the smoke more easily. pic.twitter.com/tcVq4TmxKj
— NWS Miami (@NWSMiami) May 9, 2020
However, officials added that the weekend smoke was unrelated to several wildfires that have been burning in Florida’s Panhandle since last Monday.
The Five Mile Swamp fire in Santa Rosa County burned through more than 2,000 acres and destroyed at least 17 homes, according to the Florida Forest Service.
Rather, the reason for Saturday’s smoky air was due to the Moon Fish Wildfire that was discovered on Thursday at the southeast corner of Big Cypress National Preserve and close to the Everglades National Park boundary.
According to a news release from Laurie Humphrey, Big Cypress’ lead park ranger, the fire was “human caused,” a truck fire. The person was cited, she said.
By Friday evening, the Moon Fish Wildfire was covering about 12,181 acres, and was burning through sawgrass and cypress as aerial and ground crews tried to contain it.
The National Weather Service also said smoke from fires in the Everglades could impact visibility over portions of South Florida during the early part of the weekend.