A 5,500-acre wildfire was burning through dry forest northwest of Ochopee in the Big Cypress National Preserve on Saturday as wildland firefighters worked to save several buildings.
Fire officials said low humidity was an issue, meaning the air is dry, which helps the woods burn.
The Sandy Fire was discovered east of the Oasis Trail in eastern Collier County when only 50-acres in size on Monday, said Riki Hoopes, a National Park Service wildfire information officer.
Evacuations are possible in the Big Cypress area, Hoopes said,
Hoopes said crews were working to contain the fire to the east of Monument and west of the Oasis trails. The fire is to the north of trail mile markers 54 to 58.
The Oasis Trail is the southern leg of the 1,500-mile-long Florida Trail extending from the Oasis Visitor Center and Ranger Station at 52105 Tamiami Trail E. near the tiny town of Ochopee.
Ochopee is an unincorporated community in Collier County near U.S. 41 and S.R. 29 by Carnestown.
The Florida Trail Association lists the Oasis Trail as the 30-mile southern end -- from Interstate 75 on the north to U.S. 41 on the south -- of the longer trail that zig-zags up the state from the Oasis Visitor’s Center in Big Cypress to Pensacola.
Big Cypress encompasses 729,000 acres of subtropical terrain, about a third of which is covered with the dwarf pond cypress.
Hoopes said winds blew embers east of Oasis Trail that created spot fires that needed to be put out, which slowed wildfire-fighting effort Friday as ground and air resources worked to contain the blaze.
Crews are working to contain the perimeter of the fire, Hoopes said, and that protecting structures, natural, and cultural resources remains the primary objective.
There is the first phase of an evacuation plan in effect. Fire managers continue to monitor the wildfire and if evacuations should be expanded residents will be notified by fire managers.
Anyone living near the area of the wildfire should pay attention to the news, but no further evacuation plans were in effect as of Saturday afternoon.
The forest is closed west of 11 Mile Road, north of U.S. 41, east of Monument Trail, and south of Mud Lake, Little Deer, Oasis Trail, and Lost Dog to ensure people are safe and firefighters can move throughout the works working to put out the blaze.
A cause of the wildfire was not immediately released.
Big Cypress is named for its great expanse, not the size of the trees. In addition to the cypress swamp, the landscape has sandy islands of slash pine and hardwood hammocks, as well as sloughs, wet prairies, marshes and mangrove thickets.
The Florida Trail Association says the trail in this area "passes through the great swamp of dwarf pond cypress and crosses pine islands, hammocks, giant ferns, and prairies with cabbage palm and saw palmetto."
While the region is off-limits until further notice, the region is known for bromeliads (air plants). The Seven Mile Camp is along the route. And bobcats and wild turkeys join bluebirds, quail, kites, wood storks, short-tailed hawks, and the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker.
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