Key Largo, United States - March 18, 2025 Firefighting helicopters were spotted soaring through thick smoke clouds above a raging brush fire in Key Largo on March 18, as captured in a dramatic video posted by X user Maksim Khoziaikin. "We’re stuck in Key Largo. Both roads to Miami are blocked by the fire," he lamented. The blaze, which erupted last Wednesday, has now swallowed 2,000 acres and is only 20% contained, fanned by dry weather and fierce winds, according to Michelle Danielson of the Florida Forest Service. Both U.S. 1 and Card Sound Road, the sole lifelines linking the Florida Keys to mainland Miami-Dade County, were shut down Tuesday afternoon. U.S. 1 reopened by evening, but Card Sound Road remained closed as of Wednesday morning, with no reopening estimate from Monroe County officials. Traffic crawled along the 18-Mile Stretch into the Keys, turning Florida City into a gridlocked nightmare reminiscent of Hurricane Irma’s aftermath in 2017. Drivers were stunned. Bennett Lessmann, 39, a Boca Raton attorney heading to Marathon, gaped at smoke plumes visible miles away on Florida’s Turnpike. "You can’t tell where the fire is," he said. Meanwhile, Tom Richards, 77, and pals Ronnie and Patsy Boggess, 82 and 80, hit a wall in Florida City after a mainland doctor trip. "They closed the damn road right as we got here," Richards fumed. Spring breaker Cody Hinkle, 25, from Kansas City, took it in stride, lighting a cigarette amid the chaos. "I thought it was just clouds," he shrugged. The National Weather Service had issued fire warnings Monday across Miami-Dade and beyond, citing low humidity and no rain. "Perfect conditions for brush fires," warned Erika Benitez of Miami-Dade Fire Rescue, urging those with breathing issues to hunker down indoors. Smoke stretched far, choking the air and stranding travelers in a fiery trap.