Large South Florida brush fire 60 percent contained

Associated Press

PEMBROKE PINES, Fla. (AP) — A brush fire that's been burning for several days in South Florida is about 60 percent contained.

The fire started in southwest Broward County on Wednesday and engulfed more than 5,500 acres by Saturday morning.

The flames prompted the evacuation of a fish camp on the edge of the Everglades. The camp owners used an airboat to pack down a 60- to 80-foot swath of vegetation to keep the flames from getting closer.

Firefighters hosed down nearby mobile homes and land north of the camp to keep the fire away.

A spokesman for the Florida Forest Service told the Sun Sentinel (https://tinyurl.com/m5vfbtu) the fire had spread between two and four miles from north to south.

Everglades Holiday Park was forced to close earlier this week because of the fire.