Photo provided by the office of Governor Brian Kemp Brantley County, Ga. Shows smoke from a wildfire on Friday, April 24, 2026.
Office of the Governor Brian Kemp/AP
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Office of the Governor Brian Kemp/AP
Nahunta, Ga. – One of two large wildfires burning in southeast Georgia continues to grow and now exceeds 31 square miles (80 square kilometers), officials said Sunday.
The fire on Highway 82 has been burning since April 20 and as of Saturday had destroyed at least 87 homes. On Sunday morning, officials said it was only 7% contained.
Highway 82 in Brantley County is about 35 miles (56.3 kilometers) north of the state line with Florida.
“The fire basically doubled in size last night,” Brantley County Manager Joey Cason said in a Facebook post Sunday. “This is a dynamic fire event that will be affected by wind.”
Winds were expected to reach about 15 mph (24.1 kph) on Sunday.
Casson also said evacuation notices may be issued Sunday and residents should heed them.
“We had people who didn’t get out and they almost got caught in the fire,” he said. “It’s going to be another high potential day for fires as winds pick up toward the end of the day.”
A second fire about 70 miles (110 kilometers) southwest in Clinch and Echols counties, near the Florida state line, had burned more than 46 square miles (121 square kilometers), destroyed at least 35 homes and was only 10% contained as of Saturday. The fire was caused by sparks from welding operation.
The fire on Highway 82 was caused by a foil balloon hitting live power lines. This produced an electric arc which ignited the flammable material on the ground.
Casson said more crews are expected to arrive Sunday and Monday to help deal with it.
“The expectation is that a lot of assets are going to be thrown into this fire to try and get it under control or put it out,” he said. “This whole situation is heartbreaking.”
Southern Area Incident Management Team spokeswoman Susie Heisey said updated figures on homes damaged or destroyed by the fire were not immediately available Sunday afternoon.
“Our firefighters worked very hard and had a lot of success protecting structures and private homes, but there was also damage,” Heisey said.
He said that due to the ongoing fire, investigators could not yet be sent to assess the damage.
Firefighters are battling more than 150 other wildfires in Georgia and Florida that have blanketed areas with smoke far from the flames, prompting air quality warnings for some cities.
An unusually large number of wildfires are burning across the Southeast this spring. Scientists say the combination of extreme drought, high winds, climate change and dead trees still in some forests after being struck by Hurricane Helene in 2024 is increasing fire risk.
In northern Florida, Nassau County Sheriff’s Office volunteer firefighter James “Kevin” Cruz died Thursday evening after experiencing an unspecified medical emergency while extinguishing a brush fire. No deaths or injuries have been reported from the fires in Georgia.
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