Georgia fires, heavy smoke

More than 27,000 acres were burning in South Georgia by Wednesday, pushing residents out of several communities and sending smoke far beyond the fire lines. (nytimes.com) The biggest fires were in Clinch and Echols counties, where the Pineland Road fire had grown past 16,000 acres with 10% containment, according to the Georgia Forestry Commission. In Brantley County, the Highway 82 fire also prompted evacuations as crews fought multiple large blazes at once. (wtxl.com; gpb.org) Governor Brian Kemp declared a state of emergency on April 22 for 91 counties and said the order would last 30 days unless renewed. The state also imposed a burn ban across the same stretch of South and Central Georgia as firefighters and bulldozers were deployed to stop new ignitions. (gov.georgia.gov; gpb.org) The fires were spreading after weeks of drought left trees, brush and forest floor debris dry enough to burn fast. Kemp said wildfire activity had already passed Georgia’s five-year average, and the Georgia Forestry Commission said dozens of new fires had started in recent days, mostly in the southern part of the state. (gov.georgia.gov; 11alive.com) Smoke became a second emergency. In metro Atlanta on April 22, Fulton County emergency officials urged people sensitive to smoke to limit time outdoors, and 11Alive reported a Code Orange air-quality alert for people with respiratory problems. (11alive.com) Georgia health officials said wildfire smoke can irritate eyes and lungs in healthy people and can worsen asthma, allergies, heart disease and other chronic conditions. The Georgia Department of Public Health told residents to keep windows closed, use clean air-conditioning filters and check air-quality reports before spending time outside. (dph.georgia.gov) The smoke plume also reached North Florida as the same dry air and wind that fed the fires stretched across the region. The National Weather Service office in Jacksonville warned this week that drought, low humidity and wind were raising the chance of significant fires in southeast Georgia and northeast Florida. (weather.gov; weather.gov) Local damage was already severe by Wednesday. WTXL reported that the Clinch and Echols County fires had destroyed more than 50 homes, turning a regional fire-weather problem into a housing and displacement crisis for rural communities near the Florida line. (wtxl.com) Fire crews were still trying to raise containment and hold evacuation lines on April 23, with state officials warning that dry conditions could keep the threat high. For residents from Fargo to Atlanta, the immediate question was no longer just where the flames were, but where the smoke would drift next. (wtxl.com; dph.georgia.gov)