WESTON — A 25-mile stretch of U.S. 27 was shut down Saturday after a brush fire burned about 6,000 acres near the Everglades, authorities said.
No injuries have been reported and no structures are threatened, said Division of Forestry spokesman David McCarty.
The blaze, in a remote part of the Everglades, likely started after a lightning storm Friday night, McCarty said.
The road has been closed from the I-75 interchange through the Palm Beach County line, he said. The fire jumped U.S. 27 about 3:30 p.m. Saturday, but McCarty said fire crews have been able to keep it from spreading.
“Our concern was it jumping U.S. 27 and getting on the east side because then it would start moving along Sawgrass and that’s where all the homes and businesses are,” he said.
Helicopters were on standby to dump water on the flames, he said.
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