Nearly 23,000 acres scorched in week-long raging fire from Atkinson to Waynesville to Hwy. 32
“This is a dynamic fire event that is wind driven.”
County Manager Joey Cason has said this since Tuesday, April 21 when the fire along Hwy. 82 between Atkinson and Waynesville went from a 700-acre fire to a raging fire spreading across 4,000 acres in a matter of hours.
The Hwy. 82 fire has since grown to approximately 22,615 acres by mid-morning Monday, April 27. It had doubled in size late Saturday, April 25 into Sunday morning, April 26 to just over 20,000 acres.
Officials say it is just six percent contained. So far, no injuries or deaths have been reported due to the fire.
Much needed rain fell Sunday in Brantley County, ending a dry stretch of no participation. The 8 p.m. thunderstorm dropped between 0.4-0.8 inches, giving firefighters a much-needed break from the extreme fire behavior.
No rain is expected through Wednesday, but there should be good to excellent humidity recovery at night.
A 10:30 a.m., press release Monday morning reported firefighters will continue efforts to improve and widen containment lines north of Hwy. 32, along Browntown Road and Hwy. 110. Structure assessments north of Hwy 110 will continue.
Utility companies are working around structures along Hwy. 110, assessing and repairing their equipment and infrastructure.
Cason’s live update earlier Monday morning centered around social media posts stating the fire was dead.
“There’s a few things that need to be made very clear,” he said. “There's information that was put out yesterday (Sunday) that the fire is dead. I can tell you with certainty the fire is not dead.”
Approximately 60 fire stations from across Georgia and north Florida, with nearly 410 firefighters which include personnel from as far west as Utah, have descended into Brantley County.
The number of homes lost in the fire has surpassed 100. The losses could be higher when officials are able to safely travel the roads.
A somber called press conference was held at 1:30 p.m., Wednesday afternoon (April 22) at the Brantley County Airport for an update. Cason, Brantley Sheriff Len Davis, Camden County Emergency Management Director Chuck White, and Tony Pritchett, Deputy Commissioner of the Georgia Department of Safety and Fire all spoke at the event.
Since, Cason has given several daily updates to keep residents informed as information is gathered for road closures, voluntary evacuations and mandatory evacuations.
“We’ve had several requests about residents getting back into their homes on Hwy. 110 on the north side of 82, off Browntown Road and off Post Road,” stated Cason in Monday morning’s release. “Just understand that safety is the biggest concern that this whole group (officials) is worried about. They are trying to make sure we get folks back in their homes as soon as possible, but safely as possible.
“Roads will be reopened just as soon as it’s possible. We’re getting a little bit of respite in this fire today, or a little bit of rest. It's not as hot and the wind is not blowing as hard this morning.
“You’ve heard me say from last week, this is a dynamic fire event that is wind driven. We’re expected to have winds later this week that could restock that fire to be just as bad as it was on Saturday.”
Current evacuations include areas and roads inside this boundary:
North - Hwy. 32 South - Hwy. 82 West - Hwy. 110 East - Post Road
Current road closures can be found at Warn.PBS. org.
Cason said information about residents returning home will be posted on the sheriff's Facebook page.
“Safety is the key issue,” he said. “We’ll get folks back in their homes just as quick as we can, and open those roads as fast as we can. The fire is not dead ... the wind is still blowing.”
