The worst drought in southeast Georgia in nearly 20 years has helped fuel a fire that has burned across 20,000-plus acres in Brantley County, doubling in size Saturday night.
According to Georgia Forestry Commission Region Manager Blair Joiner, the first quarter of 2026 is the 8th-driest on record dating back to 1865.
Saturday (April 25) marked the second significant jump in acreage. It grew from approximately 700 acres Tuesday, April 21 to more than 4,000 acres within hours of the wind change that afternoon.
The Brantley County Sheriff's Office says infrared mapping shows the fire near Highway 82 has burned nearly 22.615 acres, and is listed as just seven percent contained.
“This is a dynamic fire event,” County Manager Joey Cason said in a Sunday morning update. “It’s going to be another potential bad fire day today (April 26) as the wind picks up later in the day.”
With windy conditions, the fire jumped Hwy. 32 near Browntown Saturday afternoon, moving in a northerly direction into Wayne County.
The fire is well established east of Browntown Road.
Cason said more help was arriving Sunday into Monday.
“There’s a ton of assets being poured into this fire,” he continued. “Hopefully, we can get it under control and get it out. There are hundreds of volunteers here helping us fight this.”
The Southern Area Incident Management Team and the Georgia Forestry Commission have 410 personnel on site, seven Type 1 helicopters, one Type 3 helicopter, four crews, 25 Type 1 engines, 17 Type 6 engines, three tractor plows and 20 bulldozers.
So far, no injuries or deaths have been reported due to the fire. There are currently 59 fire departments from across the state working specifically on structure protection.
A mandatory curfew from 8:30 p.m.-6:30 a.m. will remain in effect through the duration of the fire for affected areas.
The dry soil, worsening by the day, along with breezy conditions have fueled the spread of one of the devastating fires in state history.
The Weather Service said most of the state is under high fire danger conditions, meaning any fire that develops could spread quickly with more than 90 percent of the state under drought conditions.
Parts of South Georgia under an exceptional drought. Such conditions led the Georgia Forestry Commission to sign a burn ban Wednesday, April 22.
“We need everyone to take this situation seriously,” Johnny Sabo, director of the GFC (Georgia Forestry Commission), said in a news release. “GFC’s wildland firefighters are responding daily to a near-record number of wildfires. It’s critical to remember that just one spark or ember can ignite a life-threatening wildfire.”
Governor Brian Kemp told reporters Wednesday officials believe it started after a party balloon landed on a power line.
Kemp issued a state of emergency executive order for areas south of metro Atlanta later Wednesday. The state of emergency, which covers the same 91 counties as the burn ban, allowed for the National Guard to be deployed to areas affected by wildfires.
This is the first time in the state’s history the forestry commission has ordered a burn ban, Kemp said.
The active burn ban, said to be necessary to “preserve life and property because of unusually hazardous conditions,” will expire May 22. It’s active for areas south of metro Atlanta, running from Harris to Columbia counties and to the Florida state line.
The blaze in Brantley County shrouded Brunswick, which is 30 miles away from the fire, in smoke and haze Tuesday, April 21 with reports of less than 100 feet of visibility in some locales.
Local law enforcement has repeatedly closed Hwy. 82 from its intersection of Hwy. 301 in Nahunta to Post Road in Waynesville because of heavy smoke.
Breezy conditions have not allowed firefighters, by land and air, to gain on the destructive fire with hot spots re-igniting.
Caon said the Department Agriculture is assisting those with needing large animals moved and Red Cross is taking smaller animals. He added Red Cross does have an overnight shelter in Glynn County at Seldon Park Complex.
Additional shelters are located at Nahunta Methodist Church and Southside Baptist Church.
