MARATHON, Fla. (AP) - A massive marina fire closed U.S. 1, the only road in or out of the Florida Keys, for a time Monday morning.
The fire broke out at the Vaca Key Marina in Marathon, which is 113 miles south of Miami.
The highway runs south to Key West, which is 48 miles away.
Crews responded to calls of a boat fire but found a home and a lot full of wooden lobster traps on fire when they arrived,NBC 6 reported.
In addition to the house, the fire destroyed at least three lobster boats, six propane-powered forklifts, several trap shacks, tools and about 20,000 lobster traps, the Monroe County Sheriff's Office said.
The total damage could exceed $1 million, according to the sheriff's office.
“We all – deputies and firefighters – worked extremely hard to keep this fire from spreading further and to keep anyone from being injured. The teamwork shown on the scene was impressive and I commend everyone for their hard work and dedication to the job of keeping the community safe,” Monroe County Sheriff Rick Ramsay said in a statement.
The WPTV web team contributed to this report.