Everglades Still Smoldering

The best thing about the fires that crackled through the Everglades on Monday is that they are not threatening homes nor other structures. The bad part is that Alligator Alley - South Florida’s Interstate 75, which links the state’s east and west coasts - will likely remain closed for at least one more day.

The soft incense-like scent of burning sawgrass filled the air as more than 130,000 acres of land was singed by late Monday.

The strategy employed by the 50 or so firefighters trying to contain the fire is to let it continue to burn in a 220,000-acre area until it puts itself out. Authorities hope the fires will die out by the end of today.

The trick to fighting wildfires is not to run hoselines charged with water to the blaze. Rather, firefighters use special equipment and techniques to keep the fire contained, said Assistant Broward County Fire Chief Frank Ennist.

Back fires, or intentionally lighted fires, were set as a pre-emptive strike to prevent the wildfires from breaching boundaries.

A helicopter loaded with chemically filled ping pong balls flew over an area west of the Miami Canal near the 36 mile marker on Alligator Alley on Monday afternoon. A chemical reaction caused the balls to burst into flames as they hit the ground, in an effort to create a back fire that would keep the flames from reaching the Miccosukee Indian Reservation not far away.

As changing winds caused the course of the fire to change paths, law enforcement officials took no chances with motorists’ safety and put up blockades at the eastbound and westbound toll plazas leading to Alligator Alley.