Just like S.C., Georgia faces a serious fire danger, officials warn
ATLANTA, Ga. - South Carolina has gotten most of the attention for wildfires, but the threat is just as real in Georgia.
Georgia leaders say even though there isn’t a burn effect in play right now, Georgia is in the red for the month of March, and leaders are predicting significant fire potential.
The National Weather Service issued a high fire danger alert for parts of north and central Georgia and a red flag warning for the entire state of Georgia over the weekend as gusty winds and low humidity fueled dangerous conditions.
Fannin County Fire Chief Larry Thomas says crews have been working around the clock.
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“For the last three weeks, we have been very busy, as far as brush fires and leaf fires that are getting out of hand due to the low humidity,” Thomas said.
Thomas says most of the fires have been caused by outdoor burning.
“It’s one of the worst times right now to be burning yard debris, leaves, twigs and limbs, things like that,” he said.
Wendy Burnett with the Georgia Forestry Commission says they’ve responded to 490 wildfires between Feb. 24 and Sunday, March 2.
She says the wildfires burned nearly 6200 acres.
“We are anticipating that this is going to be a very busy March,” Burnett said. “We’re anticipating long-term for this to be a prolonged-term event.”
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She says crews responded to 137 fires during Saturday’s red flag warning.
“Our guys were ready to go,” Burnett said. “They’ve done a phenomenal job. They attacked the wildfires aggressively. They’ve been able to keep the acres burned down significantly.”
Thomas says he’s sending this message to the community: “Please don’t burn if you don’t have to.”
The Georgia Forestry Commission says it has paused issuing burn permits in certain counties due to the dangerous conditions.
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