SCOTT DETROW, HOST:
A series of fires that broke out in south Georgia this week have burned tens of thousands of acres of land and destroyed more than 80 homes. Sofi Gratas from Georgia Public Broadcasting joins us now from the area where emergency response is still trying to control the fire. Hi, Sofi.
SOFI GRATAS, BYLINE: Hey, y'all.
DETROW: So for people who don't know south Georgia, can you describe the area and what you're seeing?
GRATAS: Yeah. So this area - it's a couple hours south of Savannah, and it's largely rural, sandwiched between the coast and the Okefenokee Swamp. Of all the fires in Georgia right now, the concern here in Brantley County is it's much more residential. So this fire - they're calling it the Highway 82 fire. It's already burned over 5,000 acres of land. That includes dozens of homes and forests. They're still assessing damage and haven't quite identified what actually caused the fire.
Local officials say that this fire was calm overnight and is, at this point, about 15% contained, which is a small improvement from yesterday, but that can fluctuate. And what they were worried about today is the wind picking up. So late this afternoon, the fire moved up north a bit. More wind could mean possible flare-ups elsewhere or cause the fire to jump over roads where it's so far been held off.
This area is currently under a state of emergency, and there are no plans to end that. There's also a burn ban across the lower half of Georgia counties, all the way up to the middle of the state, and that's to prevent any other fires from burning up.
DETROW: Dozens of homes burned. Five thousand acres burned at this point. You said the wind might pick up. Are there other environmental conditions that might have helped fuel this fire?
GRATAS: Yeah. I mean, this area and, frankly, much of the state is in a state of extreme drought. So we were told that this county could use more than two feet of rain. Today, it was super hot and dry with really no humidity in the air. That doesn't help with controlling the fire at all. And these conditions have left the landscape dangerously dry and highly flammable going into wildfire season, which started in January.
And then there are other factors, like the wind that we mentioned. And remember, lots of these areas that were hit by Hurricane Helene still have storm debris to clean up, and that can fuel fires, too. Climatologists we've spoken with have been warning about an increased possibility of wildfires for about a month now. And here in Georgia, we've actually already broken last year's record for acres of land burned.
DETROW: You're reporting on the scene. Tell us more about how the community is managing this state of emergency and what you're hearing from people.
GRATAS: Well, it's been a wide-scale response here in Brantley County. So over 22 fire departments are here. We saw fire trucks from as far as the metro Atlanta area parked at the county staging center. Georgia Governor Brian Kemp also deployed the National Guard to help. And when it comes to the people that live here, they've either been told to evacuate or to be ready to evacuate, so to pack a bag with necessary belongings and medication. Make sure pets are all accounted for in case they have to leave.
We spoke with Elliott Ippolito (ph) outside of a local grocery store. He had to evacuate his home with his family. Elliott said that he could see the fire around both sides of his house. Luckily, he says, all that they lost was a backyard shed.
ELLIOTT IPPOLITO: It happened so fast once it jumped the highway. There wasn't enough time to prepare anything, but grabbing, you know, animals and essentials and taking off.
GRATAS: And Elliott is just one of what local officials say are hundreds of people who have had to leave their homes and find somewhere safer. At an empty store front, we met Jessica Johns (ph), and she was taking donations, so clothes, snacks and toiletries for people whose homes have burned down. She said they've already helped about six families.
JESSICA JONES: They've lost everything. There's nothing to go back to or sift through or - it's a total loss for most of them. So we're trying to get them through the immediate future. They don't have a lot of space to keep this stuff, but we should be here for weeks.
GRATAS: So this is the kind of local response that we could see around town today.
DETROW: Any sense how much longer this could last?
GRATAS: Well, as of an hour ago, there was no rain in the forecast. So they're still trying to control the fire and protect people's homes with fire breaks and water drops. All that could change really quickly and warrant more evacuations. The situation on the ground - it could also warrant a federal emergency response, is what local officials said. The county is running a few shelters where people can seek refuge, and they've gotten plenty of donations and support. These efforts are likely going to continue. We know that hundreds of homes could be at risk if the fire grows or moves outside of the zone that they're currently containing it in.
DETROW: That is Sofi Gratas from Georgia Public Broadcasting. Thank you so much.
GRATAS: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.