Georgia wildfire risk spikes as thousands of acres burn

LONG COUNTY, Ga. (WTOC) - Fire officials say it doesn’t take much right now: one small spark, one wind gust, and a fire can run.

Georgia is dry, and fire officials say it’s showing up on the ground. Video from the Georgia Forestry Commission shows the Pineland Road wildfire in Clinch County in south Georgia burning nearly 7,000 acres. Fire chiefs say the same ingredients driving that fire are present across the state.

“The conditions are just terrible. Low humidity, no moisture in the ground, the wind here lately has been terrible. Just a perfect storm for a bad fire,” said Chief Chris Moss of Long County Fire.

Drought grips all Georgia counties

All 159 Georgia counties are under some level of drought, with parts of southeast Georgia in the most severe categories. In Long County, Moss said crews have been running call after call, including a three-acre fire that spread and a brush fire on Saturday.

“Probably well over 150 fires so far since January first,” Moss said.

That’s why Long County has a burn ban in place. Officials say ignoring it can cost up to $1,000 and/or six months in jail.

“I stopped and talked to a resident earlier today that was burning, asked him to please extinguish the fire, and he said ‘how long is the ban going to be?’ I can’t give him an answer until we get a significant amount of moisture in the air, rain, it’s going to continue,” Moss said.

Moss warns that even a single ember can create a fire, and that’s why he’s asking people to hold off on any burning at all.

“It’s pretty serious right now, we’re asking the public to not to burn anything at all. Until we get a significant amount of rain, it’s going to continue to be bad,” Moss said.

Long County Fire and EMA are also on standby in case they’re needed to help with the Clinch County wildfire.