Huge plumes of smoke blanketed swaths of the Southeast on Wednesday as rapidly growing wildfires burned across Georgia and Florida, destroying more than 50 homes and forcing hundreds to flee, the Associated Press reported. State and local officials tied the spread to drought- and wind-fueled conditions and said fire activity accelerated quickly, leaving some residents with little time to respond.
In Georgia, officials said some of the biggest blazes were near the coast and that others were developing across the state, including in northern Florida. The Georgia Forestry Commission issued a 30-day burn ban for the southern part of the state for the first time in its history, and residents in areas of active fire were increasingly told to evacuate as crews tried to create fire breaks and slow the spread.
The scale of the Georgia fires was illustrated by the Brantley County fire, which state officials said threatened roughly 1,000 homes after destroying dozens a day earlier. Joey Cason, the county manager, said the fire grew by roughly six times in just a half day on Tuesday, describing spot fires starting “in the backyard and people taking off in the front yard.” He added that authorities had not reported major injuries.
Cason said the rural county sits roughly between Georgia’s coastal beaches and the Okefenokee Swamp, an area with livestock and fruit farms as well as thick stands of planted pines. He said crews focused on stopping flames from reaching populated areas, with a key concern being gusting winds that could spread embers. The Georgia Forestry Commission’s spokesperson, Seth Hawkins, said pine and hardwood forests helped fuel the fires and that swampy lowlands with thick layers of leaves and woody debris were “super flammable” when they dry out.
In the drought backdrop for the Georgia fires, the National Weather Service said the region had seen just 11 inches (28 centimeters) of rain since the beginning of September, nearly 15 inches (38 centimeters) below normal. The U.S. Drought Monitor identified parts of southeastern Georgia where the worst fires hit as being in exceptional or extreme drought—conditions officials said amplified the fire risk. Authorities said it was not yet clear how the wildfires started.
As flames moved, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp declared a state of emergency for more than half of the state’s counties. In Brantley County, more people were told to evacuate Wednesday afternoon, on top of 800 evacuations earlier, according to the Associated Press account. The fires also prompted evacuations in nearby Clinch County, and residents described packing quickly as they weighed whether conditions would change fast enough to let them stay.
One resident, Brianna Elliott, described leaving home Tuesday and finding her route back blocked about 90 minutes later. “I wish that I had knew something more,” Elliott said, adding that she would have turned around and gone home to get her animals. She said she fears her home and her dogs are gone. Another resident, Mike Reardon and his wife, packed family photos and their dog, Molly Rose, along with new e-bikes before leaving; Reardon said he believed a shift in wind could bring flames “in our backyard in a matter of minutes.”
Florida officials said the fires there were also widespread and severe. Firefighters battled more than 130 wildfires that burned 39 square miles (101 square kilometers), mostly in the state’s northern half. Wilton Simpson, Florida’s commissioner of agriculture, said the state was facing one of the worst fire seasons in decades and that “We’ve been in drought for 18 months now all across the state.”
National Weather Service officials said low humidity and breezy winds would keep fire danger elevated Wednesday. The Associated Press reported smoke drifted to Atlanta, Savannah, Georgia, and Jacksonville, Florida, with air quality in parts of south Georgia declining to the unhealthy category for all people who might be affected. Officials with the Atlanta-Fulton County Emergency Management Agency said smoky conditions were expected to linger in the Atlanta area, and Georgia fires’ smoke also spread into South Carolina, according to that state’s forestry commission.
Federal and state steps to support the response were also underway. The Associated Press reported that FEMA announced approval of grants for Georgia and Florida to help battle the blazes, while officials continued working to control flames amid conditions that were expected to keep fire danger high each afternoon through Friday, according to the weather service.
AI disclosure and CC0 license notice are included in the site footer per MSI standards.