Fighting large, fast-moving wildfires can be exhilarating work – both dangerous and thrilling as crews try to keep flames from spreading across thousands of acres.
It also can become monotonous, as crews trying to contain two large North Georgia fires are learning.
At a briefing for firefighters battling the Rock Mountain fire on Sunday, officials urged firefighters to stay aware not just of the sameness of the blazes they confront, but also of changing conditions in the fire zone.
“We have to keep our focus, keep our patience,” Keith Satterfield, deputy incident commander for the U.S. Forest Service, said at the briefing, which was posted on Facebook. “We still have a job to do. Even though we can see the end is in sight, there’s still a lot of work to do on this fire.”
“Let’s do a good job and put this fire to bed.”
The Rock Mountain fire – covering parts of Rabun and Towns counties in Georgia and Clay and Macon counties in North Carolina – continues to grow, the forest service said Sunday. The fire now covers 22,371 acres, up from 20,647 acres on Saturday. But the perimeter of the fire is still 40 percent.
On Saturday, firefighters successfully conducted “burnouts,” in which they ignited previously unburned ground vegetation between the active edge of the fire and the containment lines. This process is intended to eliminate potential fuel for the fire to expand.
Crews on Sunday were trying to secure a fire line from Standing Indian Campground south and east toward Indian Ridge, as well as east of the Appalachian Train toward Lonely Gap and Rockhouse Knob.
Meanwhile, crews continue to move closer to ending the Rough Ridge fire in the Cohutta Wilderness Area of the Chattahoochee National Forest.
That fire is 87 percent contained, the forest service said Sunday, and has not grown over the weekend. It covers 27,870 acres.
Higher humidity has helped control the fire, which now consists mostly of smoldering trees, logs and stumps. But falling leaves could rekindle fires at any time.
The best news: 3 to 4 inches of rain could fall across North Georgia between Monday and Thursday, according to the National Weather Service.
Rainfall totals of 2 to 3 inches are forecast for metro Atlanta during that period.
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