A fast-growing Georgia wildfire tops 31 square miles, with evacuations possible

The photo provided by the Office of Gov. Brian Kemp shows smoke produced from a wildfire in Brantley County, Ga., Friday, April 24, 2026. (Office of Gov. Brian Kemp via AP)

NAHUNTA, Ga. — One of two large wildfires in southeastern Georgia continues to grow and now exceeds 31 square miles (80 square kilometres), officials reported Sunday.

The Highway 82 Fire 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 per cent contained.

Highway 82 in Brantley County is about 35 miles (56.3 kilometres) north of the state line with Florida.

“The fire basically doubled last night in size,” Brantley County Manager Joey Cason said Sunday in a Facebook post. “It is a dynamic fire event that will be impacted by the wind.”

Wind gusts of about 15 mph (24.1 kph) were expected Sunday.

Cason also said evacuation notices could be issued Sunday and that residents should heed them.

“We had folks that did not evacuate and they almost got caught by that fire,” he added. “It’s going to be another potential bad fire day as the winds pick up later in the day.”

A second fire about 70 miles (110 kilometres) to the southwest in Clinch and Echols counties, near the Florida state line, had burned more than 46 square miles (121 square kilometres), destroyed at least 35 homes and only was about 10 per cent contained as of Saturday. That blaze was started by sparks from a welding operation.

The Highway 82 fire was started by a foil balloon hitting live power lines. That created an electrical arc that ignited combustible material on the ground.

More crews were expected to arrive Sunday and Monday to help battle it, Cason said.

“There’s a ton of assets that are being poured into this fire to, hopefully, get it under control or get it out,” he said. “This whole situation is heartbreaking.”

Updated figures on homes damaged or destroyed by the blaze were not immediately available Sunday afternoon, said Susie Heisey, spokeswoman with the Southern Area Incident Management Team.

“Our firefighters worked so hard and had so much success in protecting structures and private homes, but there also were losses,” Heisey said.

Due to the ongoing fire, investigators can’t be sent in yet to assess damages, she added.

Firefighters have been battling more than 150 other wildfires in Georgia and Florida that have sent smoky haze into places far from the flames, triggering air quality warnings for some cities.

An unusually large number of wildfires are burning this spring across the Southeast. Scientists say the threat of fire has been amplified by a combination of extreme drought, gusty winds, climate change and dead trees still littering some forests after being toppled by Hurricane Helene in 2024.

In northern Florida, Nassau County Sheriff’s Office volunteer firefighter James “Kevin” Crews died Thursday evening after he suffered an unspecified medical emergency while suppressing a brush fire. No fire deaths or injuries have been reported in Georgia.

The Associated Press