ATKINSON — A pile of charred rubble is all that remains of the Wedding Chapel at Covenant Acres.
The Hwy. 82 Brantley fire claimed the wedding venue and owner Ginger Hunter’s residence next door Tuesday, April 21. That was the day the fire, which has now charred roughly 22,600 acres in eastern Brantley County, became a roaring inferno.
The property was purchased five years ago by Hunter, who has been a wedding photographer for 25 years and a wedding officiant for 10.
Both her home and the wedding chapel burned down, according to Hunter, “within five minutes.” They were complete losses.
Hunter described seeing the smoke inside on cameras at around 4:30 p.m., with little to no warning.
“There was not much warning,” she said. “It took my family two hours to get to me because of the roads being blocked, and no one would let them pass.”
Hunter said both property’s wells were melted as well. She stated she had no insurance on her home, as it was paid for.
The family has still been unable to locate two of their indoor cats, though Hunter stated both had been outside the house at the time.
“Recovery will be ‘people helping people’,” she said. “My goal is to establish a stable environment at my home/land first. Then the clean-up will begin so we can get a ‘home’ as soon as possible!”
“Even a week later, the reality of what we went through that Tuesday, seeing it for the first time on Thursday, and now it is too much. My brain can only handle small amounts of the grief at a time. My family is forever changed. One minute, I was cooking a late lunch. The next moment, I was in fight or flight mode.”
As recovery and the rebuilding process begins, Hunter is hopeful for the future.
“Every time I would leave my home, I would always second glance over my shoulder at my porch light,” she said. “I’d bless my home and release it in God’s hands every time! I am hopeful, no matter what it looks like, to see my porch light on again.”
Hunter has established a GoFundMe, Cash App and Venmo for financial support.
