PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — A mulch fire has been burning in Port St. Lucie for 18 days.
The now 28-acre blaze started on Aug. 25 due to a lightning strike.
The fire near Glades Cutoff Rd. and Range Line Rd. will likely need to burn itself out, according to St. Lucie County Fire District Chief Nate Spera.
"There's not much you really can do," said Steve Carter, Port St. Lucie resident. "You just have to learn to live with it."
The process could take several more weeks, according to Spera.
"Last week was really bad," said Carter. "Last week, I felt like you could smell it in the house. There was a couple times that I had to check the outside to make sure I didn't have the grill on or anything because it smells almost like barbeque."
Spera said the water supply near the fire is both limited and ineffective due to the size of the fire, and that placing firefighters on the mound of the fire would pose an unnecessary risk and significantly raise safety concerns.
Right now, the fire remains 100% contained.
"The people who are more at risk are those people who already have pre-existing respiratory or cardiovascular disease, as well as the elderly and the young," said Dr. Mark Pamer, a pulmonologist.
In a statement to WPTV, St. Lucie Public Schools Communications Officer Lydia Martin said, "Schools are assessing the situation regularly since the impact is really determined by wind. In some cases, recess and P.E. are being held inside."
Martin said schools such as Treasure Coast High School, more than 17 miles away from the fire, have been impacted.
Pamer said he is encouraging residents to now check air quality levels before going outside.
"The issue at hand is something called PM 2.5, which is particulate matter up to 2.5 microns," said Pamer. "For comparison, a human hair is 50 microns. At 2.5 it's small enough to get down into the lungs and cause damage. The closer you get to the fire the higher and higher those levels go."
Pamer said air quality levels under 12 are generally safe.
Once they reach levels above 50, the air becomes hazardous for residents with pre-existing heart and lung conditions.
"You're hearing people say it's going to burn itself out but when," said Carter. "When is that going to happen? When are we going to be done with this so we can actually have our quality of life back?"
