More than 200 firefighters battle massive warehouse fire in Miami-Dade that could burn for days, officials say

Crews continued to battle a massive fire that broke out Thursday morning at a warehouse in northwest Miami-Dade, as officials urged residents in the area to stay indoors and close windows to avoid health impacts due to the thick, black smoke.

Miami-Dade Fire Chief Ray Jadallah said in a press conference Thursday afternoon that the fire broke out at Global Warehouse Solutions, located at 20600 Northwest 47th Avenue.

He said that when crews arrived to the scene, they encountered the fire and evacuated workers from the warehouse. No injuries have been reported, officials said.

"The fire quickly escalated to a second, third, and eventually where we're currently at, at a fifth alarm warehouse fire," Jadallah said. 

Jadallah described the warehouse as "just over twice the size of a Costco Warehouse," saying that the sheer amount of materials varies with thousands of items carried inside of the warehouse.

"The number of personnel that are currently operating on scene is just over 200 Miami-Dade firefighters. Miramar Fire Rescue is also on scene as they responded with the reports of the initial 911 calls of the fire," Jadallah said.

He added that other agencies were also responding to the fire, including the Florida Forestry Service, Florida's Department of Emergency Management, Miami-Dade's Department of Emergency Management, and the state Fire Marshal, who will lead the investigation on what caused the fire.

Officials were also monitoring the area to avoid any brush fires. Crews were blatting the flames to avoid impacts to neighboring businesses.

"This fire continues to burn. There is a possibility of the fire burning for a couple of days as a result of the roof that has collapsed on top of this warehouse," he said.

The fire caused road closures; will likely continue to burn 

Because of the fire, the Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office said that roads in the area have been closed through into Thursday night to Friday.

"Due to a fire, Northwest 47th Avenue is closed from Northwest 199th Street to Northwest 215th Street," the MDSO said in a post on X. "Please avoid the area and seek alternate routes."

Roads have also been closed in nearby Miramar because of the blaze.

According to Miramar police, emergency crews in Miami-Dade requested assistance with traffic diversions as they continue to fight the fire.

"At this time, Miramar Police has been deployed and is assisting a Miami-Dade unit with blocking the southbound travel lanes of Palm Avenue (two lanes) leading into Miami-Dade County," police said in a post on X. "The southbound U-turn lane is also blocked to prevent potential accidents."

Residents worry about the fire spreading, how it might impact their health

People in the area spoke to CBS News Miami about their concerns as the fire raged nearby. Fire officials said an alert was sent out to homes and businesses within a 5 mile radius of the warehouse fire due to poor air quality as a result of the fire. 

In Spanish, a woman spoke to CBS News Miami's Marybel Rodriguez and told her that she became aware of the situation after receiving a phone call from her husband.

She said she has a food truck that was stored near the warehouse that has been burning for hours.

Now, as crews race to extinguish the flames, she said she's worried that her truck would be lost as the flames continued to advance.