Georgia man accused of intentionally setting 108-acre wildfire
A Talbot County man has been arrested after police said he intentionally ignited a wildfire there that burned 108 acres and damaged at least two homes.
The Saturday fire was one of hundreds that have burned in Georgia over the past week amid abnormally dry conditions across the Southeast.
William Shane Harvey, 52, of Box Springs, was arrested Sunday and charged with arson of lands, according to the Georgia Forestry Commission.
He was taken into custody not far from the location of the wildfire, which burned northeast of Columbus near Box Springs, officials said. Harvey was booked into the Talbot County Jail, where he remained Wednesday.
If convicted, Harvey faces a penalty of up to $50,000 or one to 20 years in prison.
No injuries were reported, but the fire damaged the two homes and two outbuildings. Eleven other people reported property damage.
Several agencies battled the blaze, including the forestry commission’s wildland firefighters and units with Harris, Talbot, Muscogee, Marion and Crawford counties.
The Box Springs Fire Department and several volunteer departments helped, including firefighters from Geneva, O’Neal and Talbotton. Columbus fire crews provided aid, and neighbors also assisted.
In Georgia, from Feb. 24 through Sunday, 490 fires burned nearly 6,200 acres, forestry commission spokesperson Wendy Burnett said. On Tuesday alone, 57 fires burned 130 acres.
For context, the average number of fires in January over five years is 173. This January, there were 280.
— Staff writer Taylor Croft contributed to this article.
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Rosana Hughes is an award-winning bilingual (fluent in Spanish) journalist with a passion for explanatory public service journalism. She has been a reporter on the breaking news team since January 2022.
