Heavy weekend rain dampened conditions for two sprawling wildfires in southern Georgia, slowing their spread long enough for firefighters to gain some containment progress. But as drought persisted across the state, Georgia Forestry Commission crews still responded to 10 new blazes Sunday, officials said Monday.
In Brantley County, blackened trees and charred palmetto fronds lined U.S. 82, and smoke rose from areas beside the highway where fire still smoldered beneath the ground, according to the Georgia Forestry Commission. The Highway 82 Fire, the state’s second-largest blaze, remained far from fully contained, with officials saying it was only 6% contained.
Local residents described a mix of relief and continued danger as responders worked around evacuation areas. Anna Beaver, who evacuated from the small community of Atkinson, said she spent time accepting and sorting donated clothing at her church, Southside Baptist Church in Nahunta, which has provided shelter, food, diapers and other supplies to people displaced by the fire. “My heart hurts for everyone who has lost their homes, and I just want to help any way I can,” Beaver said.
Other residents stayed put because leaving would have risked trapping them outside the evacuation perimeter. Danielle and David Grantham said their neighborhood was under an evacuation order Monday and they had been taking in donations of pet food and other supplies from friends, rather than relocating. Danielle Grantham said, “We haven’t left just because we’re trying to help other people out.”
Firefighters also protected some nearby structures, even as the blaze persisted across the county. In Waynesville, a charred cinderblock shed stood near a wood-sided home that appeared unscathed, and local reporting said the house had been vacant and was being sold. Larry Ferrell, a carpenter hired to perform repairs before the buyer completes the purchase, said, “The firefighters got in here and saved it.”
Georgia’s biggest blaze, the Pineland Road Fire, has scorched more than 50 square miles and at least 35 homes in a heavily wooded area about 35 miles north of Florida. Officials said the region had a large amount of highly combustible dead trees and other vegetation after Hurricane Helene carved a path northward in September 2024.
About 60 miles northeast of the Pineland Road Fire, the Highway 82 Fire has been burning since April 20. Officials said the fire destroyed at least 87 homes and torched more than 35 square miles, and Brantley County Manager Joey Cason said the blaze “basically doubled last night in size” and would be affected by wind.
Authorities said the Highway 82 Fire may have been sparked when a foil balloon hit live power lines, creating an electrical arc that ignited fuel on the ground. For the Pineland Road Fire, officials said sparks from a welding operation may have started that blaze.
U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock visited the Highway 82 Fire area Monday and said he was working to secure federal resources both to contain the fire and to help communities respond to devastation expected in the coming weeks. Warnock said he was working closely with the governor’s office on disaster relief funds, and Gov. Brian Kemp was expected to survey damage from the Pineland Road Fire on Tuesday.
Officials said no fire deaths or injuries had been reported in Georgia. In northern Florida, the Nassau County Sheriff’s Office volunteer firefighter James “Kevin” Crews died Thursday evening after an unspecified medical emergency while suppressing a brush fire, according to authorities.
Florida’s larger wildfire outbreaks have been smaller than Georgia’s two biggest blazes, officials said, but the state still faced active conditions. Federal authorities said the 139 Fire had burned 10 square miles of the Apalachicola National Forest in Liberty County since March 17, with no structures lost and no serious injuries reported. The Associated Press report said scientists have pointed to a combination of extreme drought, gusty winds, climate change and dry vegetation as factors increasing the wildfire threat across the Southeast.