An unusually large wildfire rampaged through southeast Miami-Dade this week. It downed powerlines and trees, blocked roads in and out of the Florida Keys for days and sent noxious smoke drifting into adjacent neighborhoods.
By Friday afternoon, the 344 fire, as it was dubbed by Florida’s Forest Service, had ravaged more than 26,000 acres but state and local firefighters had managed to contain it to unoccupied wetlands.
While blazes like this one can be a major headache for people, fire is also a critical part of South Florida’s ecosystem — particularly the Everglades. At Everglades National Park, the first national park in the nation to have a fire management plan, firefighters regularly set controlled fires to help clear out dry brush, leaving charred material that renews the soil for fresh growth…