Wildfire threatens to cross highway

A few spot fires ignited across a highway from a large wildfire near Waycross, and firefighters struggled to put them out before they could spread in the miles of tinder-dry forest beyond.

Firefighters were patrolling a 16-mile stretch of U.S. 1, which links Waycross with Jacksonville, Fla., and they set controlled burns to prevent the blaze from spreading into acres of drought-stricken forest beyond the road. The highway remained closed.

Shifting winds and drought-parched forest and swampland have fueled the growth of the fire, which has consumed nearly 100 square miles in southeast Georgia since it ignited April 16.