Fla. Reopens Roads Following Fire

The Florida Highway Patrol reopened parts of two interstates near the Florida-Georgia border that were closed over the weekend, but said intermittent closures could continue as smoke from a big wildfire continued to pose a possible safety hazard, the Associated Press reported.

A 35-mile stretch of I-75 from the state line to Lake City, Fla., and a 40-mile stretch of I-10 Live Oak to Sanderson, Fla., were closed over the weekend after near-zero visibility from smoke was blamed for several accidents, AP reported.

The FHP’s Web site said Monday morning that the stretches had been reopened.

Sections of the highways were closed and reopened at least four times Sunday, Miami television station WSVN reported on its Web site.

The wildfires that raced through the Okefenokee Swamp in southeast Georgia and into Florida was started by lightning more than a week ago and have burned more than 100,000 acres, AP reported.

While some rain was in the forecast, officials were concerned about predictions of higher winds Monday, which could fan the flames, AP said.