Florida wildfires force highway closures

ORLANDO, Florida (CNN) -- The Florida Highway Patrol shut down parts of several major highways in the Orlando area on Sunday after smoke from wildfires burning near Walt Disney World reduced visibility in Orange and Seminole Counties.

The closures caused traffic problems for travelers on the busy Memorial Day weekend -- and the smoke was not likely to lift soon.

"We'll probably continue to see hazy or smoky conditions for the next several days, National Weather Service meteorologist Eric Zappe told the Florida Times-Union in Jacksonville. "There is some relief in sight, but not in the short term."

Low visibility caused several accidents with minor injuries near Orlando, the highway patrol said, prompting the highway closures. Officials closed a portion of Interstate 4 along with several miles of the Florida Turnpike, the East-West Expressway, the Beeline Expressway between I-4 and the Orlando airport, the Osceola Parkway, U.S. 192 and State Road 417.

The Orlando fires were just some of several burning in central and north Florida and south Georgia during a dry and windy spring.

RESOURCES CNN weather forecast for Orlando, Florida

The largest of those fires -- the 55,000-acre Mallory Swamp blaze -- straddles Lafayette and Dixie Counties and was threatening the communities of Hatchbend, Picket Lake and Governor's Hill, all about 80 miles southeast of Tallahassee.

Firefighters battled the blaze on Saturday from about 15 percent contained in the morning to 50 percent contained by evening, but later the fire had swelled again.

"Last evening, the fire grew from 55,000 to 60,000 acres" and is again only 15 percent contained, said Annaleasa Winter, a spokeswoman for the Florida Division of Forestry.

The Mallory Swamp fire was ignited on May 14 by lightning strikes. Florida Division of Forestry officials said they hoped to have the fire completely under control by Friday, but the fire's unpredictability has authorities concerned.

Bad conditions are expected late Sunday afternoon as the relative humidity drops, Winter said

"Until it's 100 percent contained, the containment estimates are "going to keep changing," she said. "It's unpredictable."

The Mallory Swamp blaze has forced the evacuations of 300 homes in the last few days, Winter said. She said no structures have been confirmed as lost, but the loss to the state's timber industry is now estimated to be $100 million.

Ira Jolly with the state's Forest Protection Bureau called the Mallory Swamp fire "one of the largest ever in the state of Florida."

Smoke from the Mallory Swamp blaze and another in south Georgia were affecting the air quality in towns as far away as Savannah, Georgia, and Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, nearly 300 miles northeast of the fire.

Small aircraft were grounded in Savannah on Saturday because of the smoke.