MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – A brush fire that sparked in southwest Miami-Dade County on Sunday is now 60 percent contained, Miami-Dade Fire Rescue officials said.
Officials credit rain with helping extinguish the fire, which has burned 2,100 acres. The fire has since been put out, but officials warn that there are still some smoldering logs and other debris that could reignite the fire if it dries up.
"It was just smoke everywhere -- there was fire just down a few blocks," Sonia Gonzalez, who owns The BBQ Pit, said Tuesday morning.
The BBQ Pit, a 52-year-old restaurant off Southwest Eighth Street, is still standing and back open thanks to firefighters' quick response. The owner gave a forest ranger a hug after his team stopped flames from reaching her business.
"You could feel the heat. I thought this was it, we are going to lose the pit," Gonzalez said.
Despite crews efforts, smoke seeped into neighborhoods and even a childcare center which had to turn away 27 kids after they closed their doors for the morning.
"Our main goal is to go contain it and stop it from spreading," Forest Ranger Gabriel Llamas said.
At one point, more than a dozen units were at the scene to put out the embers as the weather took a turn and a light storm moved in.
"Is the rain helping the fire go down?" Local 10 News reporter Ben Kennedy asked.
"At this point, because the fire intensity is low and the activity is low, it does help a little bit," Llamas said.
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