Fire in Everglades explodes in size; smoke impacts South Florida

A pair of wildfires burning in the Florida Everglades, about 40 miles outside Miami, have prompted air quality warnings as heavy plumes of smoke heavy smoke drifts into nearby communities.

The larger of the two fires, dubbed the Mile Marker 39 Fire, has scorched 19,200 acres of land as of Aug. 20, according to the Florida Forest Service. The fire underwent explosive growth from a day earlier when its size was measured at 1,600 acres of land.

Just to the west, another smaller fire, the Saw Grass Fire, burned 250 acres of land. Officials said no structures were in danger and no one has been reported injured. It remains unclear what caused the blazes, and both of them are 0% contained, according to the state's forest service.

Billowing clouds of smoke from the fires has begun drifting toward populated areas, including the inland towns of Coral Springs and Miramar as well as coastal beach communities such as Fort Lauderdale, Pompano Beach and Deerfield Beach.

Broward County's Natural Resource Division said the air quality forecast on Aug. 21 was "moderate," warning those with cardiovascular or respiratory conditions to limit their time outdoors. A day earlier the agency said air quality in communities east of the fires was "Unhealthy."

"Wildfire smoke from fires in the Everglades will continue to impact Broward county today, with some smoke also possible in portions of Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties,"the National Weather Service office in Miami said on Aug. 21. "Use caution outdoors, especially if you are sensitive to particle pollution."

The Florida Everglades is a subtropical wetland ecosystem spanning across more than 1.5 million acres of mangroves, marshes and sawgrass.

Derby Fire in Colorado triggers evacuations

A wildfire in central Colorado has prompted evacuations as firefighters struggled to gain control of the flames burning along steep cliffsides.

The Derby Fire has torched 839 acres of land in Eagle County, just north of Aspen, according to data released the morning of Aug. 20. The blaze, which is one of several the state is currently working to control, was ignited on Aug. 16 by lightning on an extremely steep cliff face.

The combination of extremely dry weather, intense heat, parched land and lightning strikes in western Colorado has been the recipe for most of this year’s major blazes. Thirteen wildfires that began in Colorado have been reported in InciWeb, a federal database, this summer.

Gov. Jared Polis on Aug. 14 issued an emergency disaster declaration for the entire state to free up resources to assist with early response to wildfires.