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Lake "O" Wildfire Grows To Nearly 6,000 Acres

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May 9, 2008 10:56 am US/Eastern

Lake "O" Wildfire Grows To Nearly 6,000 Acres

Officials Say Fires Were Intentionally Set

MOORE HAVEN, Fla (CBS4) ― Officials say a wildfire burning at Lake Okeechobee has grown to 5,800 acres.

Wind shifts could mean the fire may grow to 15,000 acres in the coming days.

The muck and grass are burning on the dry lake bed near Moore Haven, about 80 miles west of West Palm Beach. Fires also are burning on grassy islands in the lake.

Officials say smoke is impairing visibility on roadways west of the lake and could pose health problems.

Authorities suspect arson. Two fires began last Thursday and have mostly merged, separated only in sections by a canal. Firefighters say the blaze is still contained within Lake Okeechobee's dike.

Smoke from the Lake Okeechobee fires drifted southeast earlier in the week and caused hazy conditions over parts of South Florida. The smoke and haze led to health advisories in both Broward and Miami-Dade counties. Those advisories were lifted when the winds shifted and the smoky, hazy conditions disappeared.

(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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