Emergency crews ramped up their response Friday as a massive brush fire in South Miami-Dade County continued to spread, burning more than 26,000 acres in a week. With much of the fire inaccessible to ground crews, officials deployed additional aerial support to combat the flames.

FLORIDA CITY, Fla. – Firefighters made progress battling a large brush fire in south Miami-Dade Saturday morning. Officials at a makeshift staging area just before the 18-Mile Stretch of U.S. 1 said their main goal, besides battling the wildfire, is to keep the roads open and to contain it to the area it’s at now.

The blaze has consumed more than 24,000 acres and intermittently shut down the only routes into the Florida Keys.

Wildfires prompted the closure of a major road linking the Florida Keys to the mainland several times this week.

High winds are whipping a series of wildfires in Florida. The largest has burned more 26,000 acres in Miami-Dade County, forcing major road closures. Cristian Benavides has details.