Miami: South Florida residents were warned to stay indoors and a state prison and an immigration detention center were evacuated as smoke from a massive wildfire in Everglades National Park billowed their way.

No structures were in danger yesterday, though officials said the fire was burning in the only known habitat for the endangered Cape Sable Seaside Sparrow.

The 36,000-acre blaze was about 30 percent contained. The smoke was blowing to the northeast, said US Forest Service spokeswoman Nina Barrow. Smoke and fog advisories were issued for Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach and Glades counties.

Moderate to "unhealthy" air quality conditions were expected throughout the week, according to the Miami-Dade County Department of Environmental Resource Management.

Meanwhile, Everglades Correctional Institution and the Krome Detention Center were being evacuated as a precaution due to the nearby fires. The fire is approximately 16 kilometers from Everglades, which evacuated 1,753 inmates. Krome is federal immigration lockup that holds about 600 inmates. The inmates were being taken to other facilities.

Firefighters have been battling 88 active fires that have burned 44,000 acres from Brevard County, on the state's Atlantic coast, south to Miami-Dade County.

Source : PTI