State troopers, National Guard on Florida fire duty

ORLANDO, Florida (CNN) -- Five dozen wildfires burning in Florida have state troopers patrolling a major highway near Orlando and National Guard troops helping battle a bigger fire farther north.

Troopers are patrolling a six-mile stretch of Interstate 4 near Disney World that has been plagued by poor visibility from smoke.

Florida Highway Patrol Lt. Sterling King said Wednesday that I-4 in Polk County between the exits at U.S. 27 and County Road 557 will be monitored 24 hours a day for smoke and fog.

A number of crashes occurred as smoke and fog obscured visibility Monday on I-4, killing one person and injuring several others. A portion of the road had to be closed for a few hours. King said troopers performed similar patrols during smoky wildfires in February.

VIDEO The large Mallory Swamp blaze is only three miles from the Koon Pond fire. Correspondent Heather Murphy is there (May 29) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)    RESOURCES CNN weather forecast for Orlando, Florida

Almost four dozen National Guard troops are helping at a site in northwest Florida, where firefighters are battling a blaze that has scorched 60,732 acres.

The Mallory Swamp fire in Dixie and Lafayette counties started May 13 and has become Florida's largest fire this year. There have been no injuries or structural damage from it, but firefighters are still trying to contain it.

Hundreds of firefighters dropped water from aircraft, sprayed foam from trucks and bulldozed more fire lines Tuesday around the Mallory Swamp fire, according to The Associated Press. Officials said they had the blaze 45 percent contained, while a 1,000-acre fire three miles to the northwest -- called the Koon Pond fire -- was 35 percent contained.

Crews and equipment from other states are coming to Florida's aid. They are already arrived from Arizona, Kentucky, North Carolina, and South Carolina and more help is expected from Mississippi and Tennessee.

Gov. Jeb Bush and state Agriculture Commissioner Charles Bronson will be in Mayo, a small town roughly 90 miles southeast of Tallahassee, on Wednesday for a briefing on the wildfires, a Florida Division of Forestry statement said.

Florida's severe drought is blamed for the plague of wildfires throughout the state.