State of Emergency for 91 Counties Amid Wildfires

Gov. Brian Kemp declared a state of emergency for 91 Georgia counties on April 22 as wildfires spread across South Georgia. (gov.georgia.gov) The order took effect immediately and lasts 30 days unless renewed. It also triggered a 30-day burn ban in the same counties and let the state mobilize Georgia National Guard troops, aircraft and other emergency resources. (gov.georgia.gov) By Wednesday, more than 27,000 acres were burning across the region, according to the Georgia Forestry Association, as drought deepened across most of the state. The biggest fires included the Pineland Road fire in Clinch and Echols counties and the Highway 82 fire in Brantley County. (wabe.org) The Brantley County fire had burned about 5,000 acres and was only 10% contained Wednesday night. County officials said about 50 homes had been destroyed and roughly 1,000 more were still under threat. (cbsnews.com) The Pineland Road fire near the Florida line had spread across more than 16,000 acres and was also 10% contained. Federal officials approved Fire Management Assistance Grants for both that fire and the Highway 82 fire, allowing reimbursement for much of the firefighting cost. (wabe.org) The emergency order came as Georgia officials said wildfires had already surpassed the state’s five-year average. Kemp said much of Georgia remained in extreme drought conditions, and the state forester’s burn ban barred prescribed burns, yard debris fires and agricultural burning in the affected area. (gov.georgia.gov) Smoke from the fires drifted far beyond the burn zones. Haze and the smell of smoke reached metro Atlanta, where air quality briefly rose to an “unhealthy” reading around noon on April 22 before hovering at “moderate” levels for much of the day. (ajc.com) State agencies were already in the field before the order was issued. The Georgia Department of Natural Resources sent three fire-suppression helicopters, water engines, a bulldozer crew and game wardens, while the Georgia Department of Agriculture helped move livestock from threatened areas. (gov.georgia.gov) The order also bars price gouging during the emergency, a standard step meant to keep fuel, lodging and other essentials from spiking in fire-hit areas. For now, firefighters are still trying to slow the largest blazes before wind and drought push them farther. (gov.georgia.gov)