Wildfire, Palm Beach
- When
- May 21, 1:00 PM EST to May 25, 11:00 AM EST
- Where
- Palm Beach County, 30 mi W of West Palm Beach
- Property damage
- $30,000
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 26.648, -80.436 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Wildfire in Florida, May 21 to 25, 1999
A lightning-initiated brush fire scorched 12,000 acres of sawgrass in western Palm Beach County. The smoke drifted over the metropolitan areas of Palm Beach, Broward and Dade counties prompting local health alerts.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 3 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $30,000
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 3
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
What happened
The episode as NWS MFL wrote it up.
A lightning-initiated brush fire scorched 12,000 acres of sawgrass in western Palm Beach County. The smoke drifted over the metropolitan areas of Palm Beach, Broward and Dade counties prompting local health alerts. A mobile home was destroyed near Loxahatchee. Highway U.S. 27 was closed for a day after smoke-reduced visibility contributed to a multivehicle crash that killed one person.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
3 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
Wildfire, Broward
- When
- May 23, 3:00 PM EST to May 25, 11:00 AM EST
- Where
- Broward County, Ft Lauderdale
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 26.152, -80.456 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Wildfire, Miami-Dade
- When
- May 23, 5:00 PM EST to May 25, 11:00 AM EST
- Where
- Miami-Dade County, Miami
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 25.609, -80.499 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
What these are
- Wildfire
- A fire burning in wildland vegetation, with its acreage and damage where known.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Flooding in Iowa, May 21 to 25, 1999
- Tornado in Florida, May 21, 1999
- Hail in Nebraska, May 21, 1999
- Lightning Strike in Florida, May 21, 1999
- Hail in Florida, May 21, 1999
- Hail in Nebraska, May 21, 1999
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Mississippi, May 21, 1999
- Lightning Strike in Florida, May 21, 1999
- Flash Flooding and Hail in Oklahoma, May 21, 1999
- Hail in Montana, May 21, 1999
- Flash Flood and Hail in New Mexico, May 21, 1999
- Wildfire in Florida, May 21 to 23, 1999
More
Every storm in Florida in 1999Every state in 1999This day in weather historyWarnings in Florida, May 1999
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5690337, 5690338, 5690339.