Despite the rains that extremely dry ground siphoned up almost as soon as it fell Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, several brush fires still managed to erupt across the area.
Fire crews are working on a 350-acre wildfire that was reported on Friday within the northwest corner of Big Cypress National Preserve.
Due to its location, activity, and weather conditions, fire managers have closed all areas north of I-75, west of Bundschu Grade, south of Big Cypress Boundary, and east of SR 29. This includes Bear Island, Gator Head, and Pink Jeep Campgrounds.
The fire is just across I-75 from the 35,000-acre National Fire that burned in February and March. That blaze shut down Interstate 75, also known as Alligator Alley, several times due to smoke. Several hundred people were evacuated for a time.
RELATED STORIES
- Drought expands across Florida, water restrictions
- Sarasota County to host community event on 2026 hurricane season preparedness
- NOAA's more informative hurricane cone a permanent part of the agency's warnings
This spring's wildfires come as the worst drought to envelope Florida in 25 years continues. Despite some recent afternoon thunderstorms, the ground remains parched, and water levels are at emergency lows.
In South Florida during February, nearly a half-dozen other wildfires of size broke out, including one that burned in Lake Okeechobee.
This weekend's fire, called the Hilux Fire, is burning in an area of pines and prairie landscape north of I-75 and east of State Road 29, near Bear Island Campground. When it was spotted on Friday evening, it was burning in a 250-acre area.
Local ground and aviation crews are actively fighting the fire. Fire officials said additional resources have been requested.
Smoke impacts can be expected along SR 29, on private land, and in surrounding communities north of the preserve. No impacts are expected to Alligator Alcatraz. Florida Highway Patrol units are watching for possible smoke issues along I-75.
Additionally, residents in the closure area are being advised to:
- Be in "Ready" status, signaling there is an active wildfire in the area.
- Monitor updates via Big Cypress National Preserve web alerts at Alerts & Conditions - Big Cypress National Preserve (U.S. National Park Service) - and local media.
There are no immediate threats to residents at this time.
Weeks before the National Fire slowly burned 35,027 acres in Big Cypress National Preserve and shut down Alligator Alley several times, a string of wildfires had already been burning across Southwest and interior South Florida — most of them in the same drought-scorched counties, most of them quietly contained with little public notice.
At least a half dozen other wildfires of size broke out while the focus was on the National Fire in the Big Cypress National Preserve. Each burned during what the Florida Forest Service is calling the worst drought conditions in 25 years.
The 2025 hurricane season produced no landfalling storms, and the typical summer rainy season was anemic. Then, a series of rare, hard freezes that reached deep into South Florida in January killed vegetation across South Florida and turned it into kindling.
In February, 99 percent of Florida was in drought, with 85 percent in severe drought or worse. It was so cold, and so dry, for so long, the conditions were ripe for wildfire.
Then, Lake Okeechobee caught fire.
The year-long drought has lowered lake levels so much in places that the normally mucky bottom filled with dead organic material, such as lake vegetation and sawgrass, was exposed to Florida's beating sun for months and dried to tinder by the drought.
The lakebed started to burn, and grew from 800 to 8,000 acres in a single day.
Because of the canals, fluctuating lake levels, and other parts of the lake's bottom being too mushy to get heavy equipment to the fire, forest service crews could not use the backbone of their fire-fighting efforts – the tractor.
Instead, they used fire to fight fire and burned anything that would allow the fire to advance. Firefighters called the blaze contained at 8,612 acres within two days.
The Buggy fire broke out on February 7, near the Holey Land Wildlife Management Area in far northwestern Broward County, deep in the Everglades ecosystem, well west of any East Coast subdivision.
It burned sawgrass and marshland, and while no homes were threatened, the smoke was thick.
For days, a thick haze blanketed Alligator Alley between mile markers 32 and 35. The National Weather Service in Miami issued warnings about smoke combining with overnight fog, cautioning motorists about potential near-zero visibility on I-75.
"As the Buggy Wildfire continues to burn in far northwestern Broward County," NWS Miami said. "Light winds and a stable atmosphere overnight could trap dense smoke close to the ground, especially along Alligator Alley. "
The Florida Forest Service worked to contain the fire, which burned about 4,300 acres.
On February 8, in the Big Cypress National Preserve in southern Hendry County near West Boundary Road near Clewiston, a wildfire was first noticed at 400 acres and grew quickly overnight. It also crossed onto a segment of Miccosukee off-reservation trust land, adding a jurisdictional layer to an already complex response.
The Florida Forest Service's Caloosahatchee Forestry Center led the fight, working alongside units from the Big Cypress National Preserve. Dozers, a helicopter, and hand crews were deployed. No structures were reported at risk, and no injuries were reported.
A week later, the wildfire was contained at 2,624 acres.
While the ST-1 Alpha fire in Highlands County burned 3,047 acres, it was a separate, smaller Highlands County fire in January near Leisure Lakes in Lake Placid that drew more news coverage, likely because it directly threatened 142 structures and prompted evacuations.
In that fire, one trailer, two outbuildings, and one vehicle were damaged. The Florida Forest Service, Highlands County Fire Rescue, and agricultural law enforcement responded with eight bulldozers, three brush trucks, a water-dropping helicopter, and a fixed-wing aircraft to control airspace.
On the same day, the Curry Island 26 fire in Glades County burned approximately 1,800 acres.
More rain was due for Southwest Florida in the coming week. Whether it's enough to quell the drought is unlikely.
In Lehigh Acres on Friday afternoon, the fire department reported a roughly 12-acre fire in an area of an old citrus grove. A fire department public information office said fire crews successfully protected all structures in danger.
The fire was considered out with crews "mopping up" hot spots later Friday. Lehigh Fire was assisted by Estero, San Carlos Fire Departments along with the Florida Forestry Service.
Residents in the area were told to expect to see and smell smoke for a while and were encouraged to call 911 for any fires occurring outside of the burned area.
Late Thursday, smoke from an 83-acre fire caused the closure of a lane of I-75 northbound in Charlotte County near the Lee County line. Sustained rains helped to keep that fire from spreading.
Other fires now under control included a less than one-acre burn off the east side of US 431 in North Fort Myers, a nearly 3-acre fire on Rasmussen Road in Charlotte County that was 80 percent contained Saturday evening, and a one-acre fire also in Charlotte County near Waldrun Avenue that was 90 percent contained as of Saturday afternoon.
WGCU is your trusted source for news and information in Southwest Florida. We are a nonprofit public service, and your support is more critical than ever. Keep public media strong and donate now. Thank you.
Copyright 2026 WGCU
