+150 acre brush fire: Large smoke plume affects parts of Miami

Over the weekend, a large brush fire broke out in the western region of Miami-Dade County and engulfed some largely populated cities with dense smoke. Will weather help authorities finish containing the fire?

As of Monday morning, the large brush fire happening over western Miami-Dade County is 45 percent contained, according to the Florida Forest Service. The fire started Sunday afternoon and by the late afternoon on Sunday came close to structures located over Southwest Miami-Dade, specifically SW 8th Street, which was closed in both directions for several hours. At one point on Sunday, the only thing coming between the fire and home/business was a canal and 8th Street.

Florida Forest Service crews worked on containing the wildfire all night, joining forces with Miami-Dade Fire Rescue, which upgraded the fire to a third-alarm fire so that more units could come together to battle.

Residents of Kendall, Sweetwater, western Hialeah, and Doral could still be dealing with hazy conditions, although winds coming from the east will be guiding the dense smoke away from highly populated areas and onto the Everglades.

Still, residents, especially those with respiratory issues, are urged to stay indoors and make sure that the air conditioning is recirculating at home. Visibility will be likely obstructed at nighttime once air subsides again and the smoke becomes denser, staying like this into the early morning on Tuesday, especially if it is not contained completely today.

Winds will continue to be mainly from the east, strong at times, which will not help the firefighters battle the flames. Gusts could reach 20 mph at times. Humidity is increasing, but still not enough to produce showers. Conditions will remain mostly rain-free at least through Thursday across South Florida, with temperatures around average for this time of the year, in the low to mid-80s.