Wildfires

There have been four wildfires in six weeks within the Collier County portion of the Everglades. The 1,700-acre Newman Fire, near the Picayune State Forest, and the 41-acre Jetport fire, about five miles from the federal detention facility Alligator Alcatraz, are both at least 75 percent contained. Another two are over.

The Newman Fire, which broke out in east Naples along the Picayune State Forest this week, was the third of four notable wildfires in the Western Everglades over the last six weeks.

A wildfire being identified as the Jetport fire is located near the Alligator Alcatraz detention facility in eastern Collier County.

A 1,733-acre wildfire was being fought in the Picayune Strand State Forest in Collier County Monday afternoon. The fire was south of Alligator Alley and prompted a warning from the Florida Highway Patrol.

The size and scope of the wildfire that's been burning in the Big Cypress National Preserve for over a week took a small step back Friday with a reduction in fire area and a small increase in containment. Better mapping helped make those changes and placed the National Fire at 35,027 acres burned and at 67 percent contained by late Friday, according to a press briefing issued by the command structure of the wildfire. That was about 300 fewer acres and three percent more containment.

A pair of wildfires broke out late Sunday near Alligator Alley in the Florida Everglades. One of the fires grew to almost 25,000 acres Wednesday just south of Alligator Alley in the Big Cypress National Preserve near Ochopee. Several roadways are threatened by smoke and flames and a safety advisory has been issued.

Urgent warnings about wildfires breaking out throughout the north and northeastern portions of Florida Saturday will shift south to the Tampa Bay region Sunday, and into Southwest Florida Monday.

A wildfire burning along Lake O in Okeechobee County is at 8,600 acres, information from the Florida Forestry Service said.

2025 was the driest year in over a decade for the Sunshine State. The lack of perception has been felt hard in Southwest Florida, where current extreme drought conditions are the worst since 2001.

An active brushfire in 2,600 acres of the Big Cypress National Preserve in Hendry County is 95 percent contained today.