Georgia wildfires: 2 major blazes grow to more than 34,000 acres

(BRANTLEY COUNTY, Ga.) — At least 1,000 homes are being threatened by two major wildfires in Georgia that have burned more than 34,000 acres combined, according to officials.

Dry conditions from a persistent drought and gusty winds continue to fuel the wildfires in Georgia, Florida and elsewhere across the Southeast.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp declared a state of emergency for 91 counties in South Georgia.

The two major wildfires burning in Southeast Georgia are the Highway 82 Fire in Brantley County, and the Pinelands Road Fire in nearby Clinch County, officials said.

The Highway 82 fire, which started on Monday, had grown to nearly 5,000 acres and had destroyed at least 54 homes, County Manager Joey Carson said at a news conference on Wednesday. The fire was 15% contained on Wednesday evening, according to the Georgia Forestry Commission.

Hundreds of homes are in danger of being burned in the Highway 82 Fire, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which sent assets and personnel to the area on Wednesday to assist in fighting the fire and helping the community recover.

The Pinelands Road Fire started over the weekend on mostly private forest land, officials said. It grew from about 9,000 acres on Wednesday morning to more than 29,600 acres by Wednesday night and was spreading toward Echols County, according to officials.

The fire was threatening 64 homes and 37 other structures in the area on Wednesday evening, but there were no reports of homes being destroyed, according to the Georgia Forestry Commission, which said that fire also was 10% contained by Wednesday evening.

FEMA said on Wednesday said that the two fires are threatening 1,000 homes. The agency sent assets and personnel to assist in battling fires and helping communities recover after the agency approved a Fire Management Assistance declaration.

“Obviously, this fire became a lot larger than we thought it would be on Monday. We’ve got resources that have come in from all over South Georgia and now from the state,” Carson said Wednesday, adding that he expected more resources from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to arrive later that day.

The fire, burning northwest of Brunswick, Georgia, “continues to exhibit unpredictable behavior,” according to a statement Wednesday night from the Brantley County Sheriff’s Office.

Chuck White, director of Emergency Management in neighboring Camden County, said at the news conference on Wednesday that some homeowners in the area “have lost everything.”

“I’ll be very honest with you and say it’s a miracle that we have not had any lives lost,” Carson said Wednesday afternoon, adding the blaze was among 90 wildfires that have ignited across the state since Saturday.

Schools in Brantley County canceled classes for the second day in a row on Thursday due to the fire threat and smoke, officials said.

“This decision has been made to ensure the safety of our students, families, and employees, and to allow our Brantley County families time and space to navigate the impacts of the fire,” the local school system said in a statement on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, students and staff at two schools in the Brantley County town of Waynesville were forced to evacuate during the school day, officials said.

The Georgia Forestry Commission also issued its first mandatory burn ban in state history on Wednesday. The ban on outdoor burning, which will remain in effect for at least 30 days, is for 91 counties in the lower half of the state due to worsening drought conditions and rising wildfire activity, the agency said.

Carson noted that firefighters nearly had the Brantley County fire under control on Tuesday until afternoon wind gusts escalated the fire danger.

“Within 30 minutes, the winds picked up pretty significantly, and it went from being almost in control to a major wildfire,” Cason said. “Yesterday morning, we had 700 acres burned. It burned over 4,000 acres in a matter of hours as soon as the wind picked up.”

Persistent dry conditions have led to one of the worst droughts on record for parts of Georgia, fueling wildfires in the state.

According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, more than 48% of Brantley County is under what is called an Exceptional Drought – the highest level of drought it has experienced in more than 25 years.

Across Georgia, more than 69% of the state is under an Extreme Drought. At the start of the year, only 1% of the state was under an Extreme Drought or higher. 

Georgia needs between 12 and 18 inches of rainfall to end its current drought, according to data from the National Centers for Environmental Information.

In Florida, near the Georgia-Florida line, the Railroad Fire was burning in Clay and Putnam Counties, which are also under drought conditions. As of Wednesday morning, the Railroad Fire had grown to more than 4,000 acres and was more than 50% contained on Wednesday morning, according to the Florida Forest Service.

Across the Southeast – including Florida, Alabama, Georgia, South and North Carolina and Virginia – more than 97% of the region is under a moderate drought or higher.

Florida is experiencing its worst drought in 25 years, with at least 71% of the state under an extreme or exceptional drought, the two highest levels, the Florida Forest Service said.

Fire alerts issued from Texas to Montana and Minnesota

Meanwhile, pockets of fire weather continue to linger in parts of the Rockies and Great Plains on Wednesday.

More than a dozen states across the Rockies and Plains from Texas to Montana and Minnesota were under fire weather alerts on Wednesday due to hot, dry and windy conditions.

Relative humidity in parts of the Rockies and Plains on Wednesday was expected to fall to as low as 5%, and wind gusts up to 30 to 45 mph are also forecast, allowing any wildfires to rapidly start and spread.

The wildfire threat is expected to continue Thursday in the Rockies and Plains as wind gusts are forecast to reach 60 mph and relative humidity is expected to be down to the single digits.