Dry conditions and gusty winds have prompted the National Weather Service to issue a fire weather watch for Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties. The watch is in effect from Friday morning through Friday evening. The red flag warning for the day has been canceled, according to NWS.

The blaze has consumed more than 24,000 acres and intermittently shut down the only routes into the Florida Keys.

FLORIDA CITY, Fla. – Firefighters made progress battling a large brush fire in south Miami-Dade Saturday morning. Officials at a makeshift staging area just before the 18-Mile Stretch of U.S. 1 said their main goal, besides battling the wildfire, is to keep the roads open and to contain it to the area it’s at now.

Wildfires prompted the closure of a major road linking the Florida Keys to the mainland several times this week.

High winds are whipping a series of wildfires in Florida. The largest has burned more 26,000 acres in Miami-Dade County, forcing major road closures. Cristian Benavides has details.