SOUTHEASTERN U.S. — Wildfires burning across the southeastern United States intensified Wednesday after destroying nearly 50 homes in southeastern Georgia and forcing evacuations in multiple communities. Some of the largest blazes were burning between and around Jacksonville, Florida, and along Georgia's coast, fueled by a long drought, low humidity and strong winds.
In southeastern Georgia, 47 homes were lost Tuesday in a fast-moving wildfire. Brantley County manager Joey Cason described the scene as crews pulled residents from their homes. "There were literally evacuations that were taking place with people removed by our EMS service from the porch as the fire was in their backyard," Cason said.
One of the large blazes in Brantley County is burning along Highway 82 and had grown to more than 5,000 acres by Wednesday morning, up from 3,800 acres Tuesday. The state's largest wildfire is in Clinch County, where the Pineland Road Fire was 10% contained with more than 16,000 acres burning. "This is a serious and evolving situation," said Tim Lowrimore, president and CEO of the Georgia Forestry Association.
Brantley County schools were canceled Wednesday. Roads closed due to active fire conditions in the county included Highway 82 from Nahunta to Post Road; Highway 110 West from Highway 32 to the Camden County line; Highway 259 from Highway 82 to the Camden County line; and Highway 32 from Highway 110 to Post Road. Mandatory evacuations were in place for GA-110 (Yellow Pine Road) to Thrower Road, Happy Hollow, Drury Lane and Drury Court, and Coffee County Club Road from Thrower Road to Mossy Oak. Twin Rivers Baptist Church, at 17394 U.S. 301 North in Hortense, began serving food at 6 p.m. and planned to serve until supplies ran out.
In Florida, firefighting equipment was being staged across the state so resources would be closer to the fires. "Florida has got one of the worst fire seasons in maybe the last 30 or 40 years or it's turning out to be that way," Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Wilton Simpson said. "We've been in drought for 18 months now all across the state," he added.
A wildfire disrupted Amtrak service Monday in the northeast part of Florida, with service returning to normal Wednesday. Smoke drifted to Atlanta, Savannah, Georgia, and Jacksonville, with air quality warnings issued in some areas closer to the fires. Smoky conditions were expected to linger throughout the Atlanta area on Wednesday, more than 200 miles northwest of the worst fires. The combination of low humidity and breezy winds was expected to keep fire danger elevated each afternoon through Friday.