Ultra Music Festival Kicks Off In Downtown Miami With Thousands In Attendance

MIAMI (CBSMiami) - It's going to be a packed weekend in Downtown Miami. Ultra Music Festival and Miami Music Week are now underway.

The events took months of planning and coordination with first responders.

"We work together with Miami Police to put together a unified command with Ray Martinez with Ultra," Lt. Pete Sanchez, Miami Fire Rescue said.

Ultra Music Festival organizers worked with firefighters and police to draw up evacuation routes, as well as how to ensure public safety. 

Over 100 staff members with the fire department will be at the festival to help with any emergencies. 

Police, on the other hand, did not release how many officers were on the ground but said they will be out in force.

"This of course is a zero-tolerance drug event, however, we're not naive to the fact that individuals may show up and may have drugs in their possession and we do have officers throughout the scene that's going to address that," officer Kiara Delva, Miami Police Dept. said.

"In that planning process we were able to identify areas on a grid which allows us to dispatch these units," Lt. Ignatius Carroll, Miami Fire Rescue said.

With about 60,000 people coming in and out of downtown, expect driving to be a mess but emergency vehicles should have no issues transporting patients.

"We can treat dehydration, overdoses, we can treat heart issues, accidents, anything that is needed we're equipped for that," Lt. Sanchez added.

Typically, dehydration is a big problem for outdoor festivals, particularly with warm temperatures, however this year, cooler weather is forecast for this weekend.