CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Fires have forced transportation officials to close down highways at each end of North Carolina.

The N.C. Department of Transportation said in a statement that a section of U.S. 264 in Hyde County was closed Tuesday because of a forest fire in the Alligator River Wildlife National Refuge. Officials said smoke from the fire was limiting visibility.

The fire is located near Whipping Creek Road, south of Stumpy Point and north of Engelhard near the Long Shoal River bridge.

To the west, part of U.S. 25-70 near Hot Springs was closed on Tuesday due to a wildfire near the Tennessee-North Carolina border. The statement said closing the highway allows firefighters from both states to battle the blaze, which began last weekend in Tennessee and has burned more than 850 acres.