Heavy smoke hung over southeast Georgia on Tuesday as fires burned in Brantley County, Clinch County and Appling County, forcing road closures, evacuation orders and warnings to stay clear of a growing blaze near Zoar Road.
By midafternoon, the Brantley County brush fire had grown to an estimated 1,000 acres, closed U.S. 82 and SR 110 until further notice, and prompted evacuation orders for Warners Landing, Oaks Woodlands, Atkinson Road, Godberry Lane, Brushing Creek, Fort Mcintosh to Highway 520 on both sides of the road, Browntown Road and Hawks Landing. Smoke in the region was also tied to a separate wildfire in Clinch County that had spread to an estimated 8,911 acres and was said to be 10 percent contained.
The Georgia Forestry Commission said crews responded to 46 new wildfires on Monday alone, and those fires burned 1,080 acres statewide. A wildfire was also reported Tuesday afternoon in Appling County in the area of Zoar Road, where officials urged drivers to avoid the area. The Baxley-Appling County Chamber of Commerce asked people to pray for the firefighters battling the blaze.
The smoke and fire came as dry conditions persisted across southeast Georgia and rain remained out of the forecast. A separate wildfire was reported within the training area at Fort Stewart, though officials said it did not affect personnel or infrastructure. The same dry weather pushed Bulloch County commissioners to approve a temporary ban on open burning of yard debris in unincorporated areas beginning Wednesday, prohibiting leaves, limbs, grass and other vegetative debris outdoors.
The Bulloch County ordinance will stay in place until drought conditions improve and commissioners formally rescind it, and violations can bring penalties of up to $1,000, 60 days in jail or both. For residents across the region, the answer to whether Tuesday’s wildfire Georgia smoke was an isolated scare is no: the fires are multiplying, the ground is drying out, and local officials are already moving to limit the next one.
