2,500-acre wildfire closes parts of Florida Everglades

Devoun Cetoute and David Goodhue, Miami Herald on Apr 28, 2026

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MIAMI — A wildfire that sparked on Monday evening in Everglades National Park has rapidly grown to about 2,500 acres, authorities say. Fire crews are battling the blaze, which has already closed parts of the Everglades.

The wildfire began in the northeastern corner of the national park, with U.S. Wildland Fire Services crews working the fire on the ground and from the air, the agency said on Tuesday. The blaze is south of Highway 41 (Tamiami Trail) and east of Shark Valley.

Fire Services said it has “increased significantly” as it burns through sawgrass and dry weather aids its spread. The agency is working with the assistance of Miami-Dade Fire Rescue.

Everglades National Park closed the area between the L-67 Canal on the west and the L-31 Canal on the east from U.S. Route 41 south to several miles north of Mahogany Hammock. It includes all parking lots, facilities and navigable waterways within those areas.

Businesses near the fire — Coopertown Airboats, Everglades Safari Park and Gator Park — have also closed.

Four friends from Turin, Italy, walked up to the kiosk to book an airboat tour at Everglades Safari Park at mile marker 27, but were greeted with a handwritten sign saying it was closed for the day due to the fire.

“We saw it from the road, so we knew it was bad,” Andreas Scandurra said.

He, Georgia Feorenza, Martina Cennello and Luca Daniel were visiting Miami, Key West, Tampa and Orlando. They were looking forward to seeing the Everglades by airboat.

“Maybe we’ll try to schedule it again for the last day,” Cennello said.

The National Weather Service is monitoring possible smoky conditions, but as of Tuesday afternoon, the fire is not affecting road visibility. The evening’s forecast will mention the possibility of more fog and smoke in west Miami-Dade County near the fire, but not enough yet to trigger a safety alert, meteorologists said.

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