A new fire broke out Tuesday in Floyd County, which was hit hard by wildfires last week, according to the Rome News-Tribune.
A fire off Freeman Ferry Road that covered about 20 to 30 acres sent smoke across the sky, the paper reported. The fire was under control, but crews were expected to remain on the scene.
“We have it contained, but they have to patrol the perimeter and put out the spots where the embers are still flying,” Rome-Floyd County fire battalion chief Gene Proctor said.
Firefighters in Gwinnett County on Wednesday fought a 3-acre grass fire off the roadway on Jim Moore Road, near Hamilton Mill Parkway, spokesman Tommy Rutledge said. The fire started shortly after 3 p.m. and was out, with firefighters wetting hot spots, by 5:30 p.m. No roads had to be closed, Rutledge said.
Since Tuesday, 81 wildfires were reported across the state, 31 of them in North Georgia, Georgia Forestry Commission spokeswoman Wendy Burnett said.
Meanwhile, the GFC said arson has been ruled out as the cause of last week's Floyd County fires that covered about 50 acres. A malfunctioning exhaust system on an automobile's catalytic converter sparked the blazes Oct. 25, spokesman Brian Clavier said.
Also, a fire covering about 200 acres is still burning on Rocky Face Mountain in Whitfield County.
The threat of new blazes is ever-present because of the state’s ongoing drought conditions, as well as record-high temperatures that have extended into November.
“Drought is a huge factor right now,” Burnett said recently. “We’re seeing fires from causes we don’t typically see.”
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