By RUSS BYNUM and JEFF MARTIN Associated Press
NAHUNTA, Ga. (AP) — Wildfires burning across the southeastern U.S. forced more people to flee Wednesday after destroying nearly 50 homes in Georgia and causing some schools closings as drought and winds fueled flames.
Some of the biggest blazes were near Georgia’s coast while others were popping up in northern Florida, a state facing one of its worst fire seasons in decades.
It was not yet clear how the wildfires started, but the bottom half of Georgia is perilously dry and the conditions prompted the state’s forestry commission to issue a burn ban for the first time in its history. Southeastern Georgia has seen just 11 inches (28 centimeters) of rain since the beginning of September — almost 15 inches (38 centimeters) below normal, the National Weather Service said.
The fires spread so quickly in southern Georgia that residents received no warnings or alerts.
“I wish that I had knew something more,” said Brianna Elliott, who left home Tuesday only to find her route back blocked by the fires 90 minutes later. “I would have turned around in that moment and gone home and got my animals before anything.”
She now fears that her home and her dogs are gone.
Georgia’s two biggest wildfires together have burned more than 31 square miles (80 square kilometers), and at least four other smaller fires have been reported in the state.
Dry timber feeds Georgia fires
The fast-moving Brantley County fire was threatening roughly 1,000 homes Wednesday after destroying almost 50 a day earlier.
That fire grew in size by roughly six times in just a half day Tuesday, said Joey Cason, the county manager. There were fires erupting “in the backyard and people taking off in the front yard,” he said Wednesday.
So far, no major injuries have been reported, Cason said.
The rural county is roughly midway between Georgia’s coastal beaches and the Okefenokee Swamp and is dotted with livestock and fruit farms as well as thick stands of planted pines grown for timber.
Crews were working to create fire breaks and stop flames from reaching populated areas. The biggest concern was the gusting winds that could easily spread embers.
Authorities said rain was desperately needed. The area with the worst fires is in exceptional or extreme drought, the most dire levels, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.
“If you could start praying for that right now, we’d be grateful,” Cason said.
Pine and hardwood forests in the region are helping charge the fires, said Seth Hawkins, a spokesperson for the Georgia Forestry Commission. Swampy lowlands with thick layers of leaves and woody debris are “super flammable” when they dry out, he said.
The commission’s 30-day burn ban is for the southern part of the state.
More residents are told to evacuate
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp declared a state of emergency Wednesday for more than half of the state’s counties.
Brantley County Sheriff Len Davis warned residents to be ready to evacuate because the winds could shift rapidly and unexpectedly.
More people were told to evacuate Wednesday afternoon, on top of the 800 evacuations that had already taken place in the county. Five shelters have opened, the Federal Emergency Management Agency said.
A large fire that started in Clinch County also prompted evacuations.
Florida’s sees its worst wildfire season in decades
In Florida, firefighters were battling 131 wildfires that had burned 34 square miles (88 square kilometers), mostly in the state’s northern half.
“Florida has got one of the worst fire seasons in maybe the last 30 or 40 years or it’s turning out to be that way,” Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Wilton Simpson said. “We’ve been in drought for 18 months now all across the state.”
A wildfire disrupted Amtrak train service Monday in the northeast part of the state. Service was back to normal Wednesday, according to Amtrak spokeswoman Beth Toll.
Wildfire smoke blows into Atlanta and Jacksonville
A dangerous combination of low humidity and breezy winds will keep the fire danger elevated Wednesday, the National Weather Service said.
Smoke drifted to Atlanta, Savannah, Georgia, and Jacksonville, Florida. The air quality in parts of south Georgia declined to the unhealthy category Wednesday, meaning all residents might feel health effects.
Smoky conditions were expected to linger throughout the Atlanta area on Wednesday, according to the Atlanta-Fulton County Emergency Management Agency. The worst fires were burning more than 200 miles (322 kilometers) southeast of the city.
The high fire risk was expected to continue each afternoon through Friday due to the very dry conditions, the weather service said.
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Martin reported from Atlanta. Associated Press reporters Jeff Amy and Kate Brumback in Atlanta, Mike Schneider in Orlando, Florida, and John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio, contributed.