FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Did you notice the air was smoky in South Florida on Wednesday? Experts say it was coming from more than 100 miles away.
Easterly winds were carrying smoke from a forest fire in Andros Island, Bahamas all the way to Broward and Palm Beach counties, according to multiple reports.
“The island is to our east, and our wind direction today is easterly, so you can’t rule out a little bit of that smoke making it to a portion of the area,” said National Weather Service meteorologist George Rizzuto told the South Florida Sen Sentinel.
Users on social media expressed concern about "smoke and ash in the air" and air quality alerts in Fort Lauderdale.
Brandon Orr, a meteorologist from news station WPLG, said on X that a brush fire burning near the northern tip of Andros Island was to blame for the smoky smell in the Miami area. He added that there was only one fire truck on the island, which is difficult to access.
Bahamian official Leonardo D. Lightbourne said in a statement that volunteers were working "assiduously to ensure that the fire is contained," acknowledging that the blaze is having an "adverse effect" on several different settlements.
ILTV, a news station in the Bahamas, said that the brush fires erupted last week and were continuing to rage on Wednesday.
"The inferno has reportedly caused billows of black smoke to blanket some areas of North Andros, some roadways appeared impassable as a result of the thick clouds of smoke," the news station wrote.
