Better air quality, reopened roads as crews contain Miami-Dade fires

Kairi Lowery, Miami Herald on Jun 21, 2026

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With crews slowly regaining control of the three brush fires in West Miami-Dade that have burned over 20,000 acres in the last week, residents can expect better conditions including road reopenings and better air quality conditions.

The fires have caused both road closures and air quality alerts in the past week, but lead National Weather Service Miami meteorologist Robert Molleda said conditions are getting better.

An air quality alert that was issued Saturday by the Miami-Dade County Division of Environmental Resources Management and the Broward County Natural Resources Division expired Sunday morning.

Molleda said because air quality has improved tremendously, a new alert wasn’t needed. He said the combination of rain late Saturday evening and the fire crews’ efforts to contain the fire also helped significantly.

“We’ll see how today goes,” he said Sunday morning. “We’re still monitoring in case we see any smoke flare up from these fires, but we’ll also be watching for any wind shifts.”

Asides from air quality alerts, the fires have also caused multiple road closures in the past week.

Southbound lanes on Florida’s Turnpike from Okeechobee Road to Northwest 41st Street and Krome Avenue from Okeechobee Road to Southwest Eighth Street, both which were previously closed have fully reopened.

The Miccosukee Police Department announced Saturday that Tamiami Trail (US-41) will start to reopen, too.

Trail Glades Gun Range, a public shooting range located off Krome Avenue by Tamiami Trail that’s operated by Miami-Dade County Parks, announced Saturday morning it will remain closed for the unforeseeable future.

The fires initially came from two separate lightning strikes.

A lightning strike on June 14 in grassy flats near Krome Avenue during a thunderstorm caused the first fire before it split into the Quarry 2 Fire and the Wells Fire. As of Saturday afternoon, the Quarry 2 Fire had grown to 19,000 acres and was 97% contained, while as of Sunday afternoon, the Wells Fire had burned 2,750 acres and was 85% contained, according to the Florida Forest Service.

The Quarry 2 Fire began near Northwest 137th Avenue and Northwest 41st Street, while the Wells Fire started near Northwest 122nd Avenue and Northwest 58th Street.

A third fire, called the Coptic Fire, ignited Wednesday from another lightning strike in the Everglades and had grown to almost 6,000 acres as of Sunday afternoon. It was 60% contained, according to Western Fire Chiefs.

READ MORE: Inside Miami’s hellish week: Wildfires, flying soot, dark clouds, extreme heat

The fires previously also caused more than 200 people to voluntarily evacuate from a trailer park community near Krome Avenue on Wednesday, but the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office announced on Saturday such evacuees were allowed to return to their homes.

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