Gov. Kemp: South Georgia wildfires are ‘most dangerous, biggest’ in U.S.
WAYCROSS — Gov. Brian Kemp praised firefighters and emergency workers in South Georgia who he said Friday are battling the two “most dangerous, biggest, problematic” wildfires in the United States.
The governor added he believes the blazes, fanned by extremely dry conditions and still far from being contained, already have caused “the most lost homes ever in the history of our state” from fires.
“Unfortunately, we believe that fire activity is going to remain extremely high throughout the weekend. And really we need a change in the weather,” Kemp said.
He was speaking with reporters in Ware County after surveying damage with first responders and local officials as firefighters try to control two major wildfires in neighboring Clinch and Brantley counties near the Florida border.
“So we got the two most dangerous, biggest, problematic fires anywhere in the United States within just a really small area that we’re having to fight,” he said.
The twin fires, roughly 60 miles apart and separated by the Okefenokee Swamp, have been burning for nearly a week.
Marty Kemp, the governor’s wife, accompanied him Friday wearing a white T-shirt emblazoned with the word “PRAY” in big red letters.
”I just remind people that we need to be praying for these families and keep these firefighters that are on the front lines, and everybody that’s trying to do this, to continue to pray,” she said.
About 40,000 acres have burned in more than 90 wildfires in the past week, mostly in rural areas in South Georgia near the Florida border, according to the Georgia Forestry Commission. Smoke from the fires has caused hazy conditions and poor air quality in Atlanta and other parts of the state.
The Highway 82 fire in Brantley County, inland from the coastal city of Brunswick, has engulfed more than 7,500 acres and destroyed about 90 homes or structures, threatening several hundred more. Only about 15% of the fire was contained as of Friday morning.
The Pineland Road fire has spread across more than 30,000 acres, including woodlands, swamps and bays, in less-populated Clinch and Echols counties east of Valdosta. Only about 10% of that fire was contained by Friday morning. About 140 residents in Echols have been forced to evacuate, with nearly 160 structures threatened.
Kemp issued a state of emergency executive order earlier this week for 91 counties below metro Atlanta. The order allows for the National Guard to be deployed to help local firefighters.
No fire fatalities had been reported as of Friday afternoon.
Most of Georgia is under an extreme drought, with parts of South Georgia under an exceptional drought. Such conditions led the Georgia Forestry Commission to sign a burn ban for the same counties as Kemp’s emergency order.
Until there is a change in the weather, “we’re just gonna stay after these fires and do everything we can to keep them contained. And also protect homes and obviously lives,” Kemp said Friday.
Editor’s note: This story will be updated with more details, including on-the-ground reporting from Brantley County.
— Staff writer Caroline Silva contributed to this report.
About the Authors
Adam Van Brimmer is a journalist who covers politics and Coastal Georgia news for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Joe Kovac Jr. is Macon bureau chief covering Middle Georgia for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
