Georgia officials warn wildfires are still a threat as firefighters
report progress
[April 29, 2026]
By RUSS BYNUM
SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — Officials battling two large wildfires that have
destroyed dozens of homes in southern Georgia warned Tuesday that
firefighters are bracing for a prolonged battle even after weekend rains
gave a big boost to containment efforts.
“A little bit of rain is going to help us, but it’s not going to get us
out of this situation,” Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp told a news conference
after touring the fire areas Tuesday. “We’re going to be in this for a
while.”
A fire that has burned roughly 35 square miles (90 square kilometers)
and destroyed more than 80 homes in rural Brantley County was 32%
contained, the command team overseeing the fire response said Tuesday.
That's up from just 6% containment reported Monday.
Rains on Sunday slowed the fire enough to give crews an opening to widen
containment lines along the perimeter and to snuff out some smoldering
pockets, said Johnny Sabo, director of the Georgia Forestry Commission.
“As that number increases, our confidence at holding it in that
footprint increases,” Sabo told reporters. He added: “We have a long way
to go. I just want to stress that.”
A larger wildfire in sparsely populated Clinch and Echols counties has
charred more than 50 square miles (130 square kilometers) at the
Georgia-Florida line. Sabo said crews have held that fire to roughly the
same footprint for four days. It was considered 23% contained Tuesday.
One home and several dozen sheds and other smaller structures were
destroyed, said Don Thomas, a Georgia Forestry Commission spokesperson.
An unusually large number of wildfires are burning this spring across
the Southeast. Scientists say the threat of fire has been amplified by a
combination of extreme drought, gusty winds, climate change and dead
trees and other vegetation.
No fire injuries or deaths have been reported in Georgia. A volunteer
firefighter in Nassau County, Florida, died last week after suffering an
unspecified medical emergency while suppressing a brush fire.
[to top of second column]
|
Blackened trees and charred palmetto fronds lined the shoulders of
U.S. 82 on Monday, April 27, 2026 in Brantley County, Ga., as smoke
poured from the ground in several spots beside the highway. (AP
Photo/Russ Bynum)
Progress made against the Brantley County blaze prompted local
officials to lift evacuation orders Monday for roughly 1,500 people
who had fled their homes. About 2,500 remained displaced, said Susan
Heisey, a spokesperson for the fire command team.
Local officials have warned people returning home to be prepared to
evacuate again if necessary.
Both Georgia fires ignited as the state's worst drought in two
decades has rendered vast pine forests and swampy lowlands tinder
dry and highly combustible.
Investigators concluded the Brantley County fire began April 20 when
a foil balloon touched a power line, creating an electrical arc that
set the ground ablaze. The fire in Clinch and Echols counties
started April 18 by a falling spark as a man was welding a gate,
according to state officials.
Forecasts showed a high chance of more rain over the fires this
weekend. There's also a possibility of thunderstorms, which can
produce lightning that causes new fires.
Officials haven't said how long the Georgia fires might burn, only
that it will take significant rainfall to extinguish them.
Sabo noted that a vast fire sparked by lightning in the nearby
Okefenokee Swamp in 2011 burned for just shy of a year.
All contents © copyright 2026 Associated Press. All rights reserved
 |
