The fire was reported Sunday, and smoldered until whipped into open flames Monday by strong winds. Troopers closed stretches of I-4 periodically to make room for bulldozers brought in by the state Division of Forestry to fight the blaze. State forest rangers said they were shocked that the blazes charred swamp, forest and brush that had been doused by the weekend's heavy downpours. Apparently the rain, three inches in some areas, wasn't enough in a region stricken by hard drought for nearly three years. Weather forecasters had declared a red flag warning yesterday because of extremely low humidity, and wind that fanned the flames.
Fog combined with smoke can cut visibility to nearly zero.
This morning the NWS expects that winds should be lighter and humidity should increase today, making conditions favorable to firefighting. And Southeast Heavy rain and severe thunderstorms affected much of the Southeast yesterday, especially from Mississippi to Georgia. Atlanta, GA received over an inch of rain. Flooding has been widespread in parts of Alabama and Mississippi where up to four inches of rain fell. Last night heavy rain and thunderstorms moved through southern Georgia and Alabama.