TAMARAC, Fla. — Broward residents awoke to flames sweeping across the Everglades Monday morning as a massive plume of smoke rose from the horizon off the Sawgrass Expressway, near Atlantic Boulevard.

Kaitlyn Perricone said she’s seen flames like this before but it’s been years.

“We came here for sunrise just to see the fire,” she said. “I (saw) it last night when I woke up. We woke up a little early.”

The fire sparked on Sunday afternoon and quickly spread to nearly 200 acres. As of around noon on Monday, it hadn’t been contained.

“It’s pretty crazy, man,” resident Troy Budoski said. “You see the red fire from all the way over here. It’s burning pretty good. Burning hot.”

While neither the blaze nor the smoke seemed to be affecting drivers, traffic cameras captured the thick smoke off in the distance, with the wind pushing the fire west.

Crews with the Florida Forest Service were working to keep it from spreading on Monday.

‘It’s burning pretty good’: Crews work to keep brush fire near Sawgrass Expressway from spreading

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Roy Ramos