NASCAR watching wildfire near Homestead-Miami Speedway. Race schedule still safe for now
An uncontrolled wildfire has broken out in the southwest Miami-Dade County area, which officials say isn’t uncommon for this time of year known as the dry season in South Florida.
What’s not normal about this one, however, is the size (estimated at 14,000 acres, 22 square miles) and unfortunate timing (three days of NASCAR racing is on tap at Homestead-Miami Speedway, just north of the blaze).
Thursday winds are out of the southwest, which does no favors for the city of Homestead. As of Thursday morning, there is no disruption to the NASCAR schedule at Homestead-Miami Speedway, which includes the Truck, Xfinity and Cup Series, Friday through Sunday.
Major fires going on ~3 miles south of the Homestead race track! So much smoke is being released and it just isn’t stopping!#wx#flwx@JimCantore@ReedTimmerUSA@NWSMiami@BrandonOrrWPLG@RyanNBC6@MattDevittWX@tropicalupdate@WeatherWithLaur@LissetteCBS4@VivianGonzalez7pic.twitter.com/dsvYT7Ad3c
— Hurricane Chaser Chase (@hurricane_chase) March 19, 2025
Geez, these fires in South Miami/Dade/Homestead on the way toward FL Keys on US-1 are getting scary! We have a drought down there too. It’s different when it’s South Florida and not Los Angeles. pic.twitter.com/64PcWpfQzE
— Thomas Rose 🍵🌹 (@thetroseshow) March 19, 2025
But roads are closed nearby, including the two routes into and out of the Florida Keys — U.S. 1 and the popular bypass, Card Sound Road.
Heading into Thursday, local officials said the fire was just 20% contained. Officials say no injuries have been reported, and no threats to structures as the fire burns natural areas alongside the long U.S. 1 entryway (the 18 Mile Stretch) to Key Largo and the rest of the Keys.
“The NASCAR Cup Series events at Homestead-Miami Speedway are set to continue as scheduled,” the city of Homestead announced as part of a wider ranging bulletin.
It’s been a long time since NASCAR officials had to monitor fire activity entering a race weekend. The last time, it hit particularly close to home, when the 1998 Central Florida wildfires forced postponement of the July race at Daytona. That race was moved to an open date in October.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: NASCAR eyes Homestead-Miami fire as race weekend arrives. Roads closed
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