burning up

the biggest fire in the country is a 40,000-acre burn near the pocosin lake national wildlife refuge in eastern north carolina, which i didn't know until after i had driven through the smoke for about 50 miles on the way to manteo tuesday----it was a clear day in manteo this morning, but, crossing the alligator river, i could see the smoke plume 45 or 50 miles away----the radio said visibility was down to a quarter mile in rocky mount, with the fire nearly 100 miles away----raleigh reminded me of all of the smoke in atlanta last year when the okefenokee swamp was burning up----the fire is slow-moving over deep layers of peat and is only 40% contained----they said it might burn for a year----