SUFFOLK, Va. -- A fire in the Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge is 90 percent contained, thanks to a drenching from Hurricane Irene. But the storm has left firefighters with a new challenge.
An interagency team that includes the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and forestry officials says flooded roads and fallen trees are making it difficult to get to remaining hot spots.
Incident Commander Mike Dueitt says two 20-person crews will use small pumps to cool the hot spots.
Irene soaked the swampover the weekend with 10 to 15 inches of rain, dousing the most intense fires. Dueitt says firefighting efforts will be winding down over the next few days.
The fire has burned nearly 6,400 acres in Virginia and North Carolina.
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Prodded by the urgent need for long-term repairs to a storm-ravaged Outer Banks highway the state Department of Transportation is moving toward a solution expected to include elevating more than four miles of N.C. 12 onto bridges. 
A day after deadly tornadoes struck the Southeast, survivors looked for what they could salvage, huddled in loved ones' hospital rooms and shared stories of how they made it through the furious storms. 
As their crops come in and they count their gains and losses, Eastern North Carolina farmers are finding that much of their profit this year was dried up by drought or blown away by Hurricane Irene. 
Since April, Allison Miller has lugged around a backpack full of details she needs to make her family whole. Its contents - binders full of receipts and insurance forms and paint swatches - capture every step of her family's journey since tornadoes upended their lives. But, the weight of it shows how a tragedy like this can consume a life. Keep up with the latest stories with our free local news e-mail newsletters, delivered straight to your inbox!
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