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The Radio Tower Fire (Florida)

Ended · 100% containedCrews stopped it spreading on 100% of the perimeter. Not the same as out, and not 100% burned. · 700 acres (283 hectares) · Started · Updated

This fire in numbers25 days
283Hectares700Acres25Days it lasted
Containment100%

Started on Aug 13, 2026.

United States todayLive
74Active547Hotspots 48h972 kHectares
Last 7 days · steadyHow many named wildfires were burning on each of the last 7 days. It rises when there are more than on the earlier days.
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The Radio Tower Fire (Florida) — Sentinel-2 true color The Radio Tower Fire (Florida) — Sentinel-2 SWIR (fuego) True view Fire view
⟷
True view (left): as the eye sees it.
Fire view (right): infrared (SWIR), sees through smoke and brings out the heat.

🟢 green = vegetation
🟤 brown = already burned
🟠 orange = fire right now

Drag to compare: normal photo on the left, heat brought out on the right.

Green: vegetationBrown: already burnedOrange: fire right nowSentinel-2 · Copernicus

Red dots: heat detected by satellite in the last 48h. NASA FIRMS

Active fires nearby1 · 100 km
Within 100 kmSee on map →

Quick facts

Location
5 miles west of KENDALE LAKES, FL
Cause
Natural
People working on it
1 people
Complexity
Type 5 IncidentOfficial scale from 5 to 1: a Type 1 is the most complex in the country.
What's burning
Timber (Litter and Understory)
How it's behaving
Minimal
Jurisdiction
Local land
Glossary: what each term means
Minimal

Barely moving. Low, thin smoke.

Smoldering

Burning without flame, in the ground or in roots. Can flare up days later.

Creeping

Moves slowly, hugging the ground.

Moderate

Spreads with low, steady flames.

Active

Spreading evenly and steadily, with visible flame.

Extreme

Fast and unpredictable.

Running

Runs along the ground much faster than a person walks.

Flanking

Grows along the sides, not head-on.

Backing

Moves against the wind or downhill, which makes it slower.

Crowning

Climbs into the treetops and jumps crown to crown. It can't be attacked from the ground.

Short Crown Runs

Climbs into the crowns in bursts and drops back down.

Torching

Whole trees flaring up like torches.

Isolated Torching

Single scattered trees flaring up whole, like torches.

Group Torching

Whole clumps of trees flaring at once.

Spotting

Wind carries embers through the air and starts new fires ahead of the front: that is how a fire jumps a road or a firebreak.

Wind Driven Runs

The wind pushes it in long runs in one direction.

The ones marked ● are the behaviors that make a fire harder to stop. They are not a warning or an instruction: they are the description written by the agency in charge. For decisions, always follow your emergency services.

Burning through timber litter and understory on local land in Miami-Dade County, Florida, The Radio Tower Fire has completed a ten-day run that averaged approximately 70 acres per day. Located five miles west of Kendale Lakes and within the Miami area, the fire ultimately consumed 700 acres under minimal fire behavior before reaching full containment on August 13, 2026.

Operations to secure the perimeter were managed by a single personnel functioning as a Type 5 Incident Command under a Type 5 classification, successfully addressing the naturally caused blaze. This incident unfolds during a regional fire season that typically spans from June to October.

On a national scale, wildfire activity in 2026 has reached 2,982,133 hectares burned so far, tracking 46% below the two-decade average.

In context

This wildfire burned in Florida for 24 days. In total it burned about 700 acres — around 2.8 km².

In the Northern Hemisphere, wildfire activity usually peaks during the warm, dry months — roughly May through October.

The bigger picture in United States

Across United States, roughly 3,304,390 hectares have burned so far in 2026 — 40% below the two-decade average. Data from Copernicus GWIS.

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Community reports

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