That smoky air that is burning our eyes in downtown Fort Lauderdale? It's coming from six fires burning 100 miles west in the Big Cypress National Preserve.
A change in wind direction brought the smoke from blazes that began after lightning strikes in Collier County on May 8, and began clouding our blue skies Thursday morning.
The fires have burned on both sides of Interstate 75 and so far, have damaged 30,250 acres and are just 13 percent contained.
We may feel the effects in South Florida into the weekend. Along I-75 between mile markers 59 and 75, drivers may encounter smoky conditions.