HIALEAH GARDENS, Fla. --
Miami-Dade firefighters spent several hours battling a large mulch fire in Hialeah Gardens Tuesday morning.
The pile of mulch -- 30 feet high, 200 feet long -- caught fire just after 4 a.m. at EPS Organics, a company that specializes in wood chipping and land clearing. Fire crews suspect a piece of mulching equipment may have been left on overnight, igniting the blaze.
The mulch, compost and land clearing company is located at Northwest 122 Avenue and 145th Street -- a rural area off the Florida Turnpike and Okeechobee Road -- which made it difficult for firefighters to initially find a water supply. There are no hydrants in the area, so crews were forced to pump water from a nearby canal to fight the fire.
Though the company is located near two major roadways, Okeechobee Road and The Florida Turnpike, there are no road closures due to the smoke at this time.
As of 7 a.m., the fire was mostly out. However firefighters expect it to smolder for the next day or two.
The wind is pushing the smoke to the southeast so people living in Hialeah Gardens will likely smell the smoke.
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