WTOC, Savannah, Georgia, news, weather and sports | Firefighters Deal with Two New Wildfires
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Fires are keeping forestry and fire crews in Bulloch and Bryan Counties busy this holiday weekend. They spent the past two days battling separate fires that have destroyed 600 to 700 acres of woodlands.
Flames burned through dry woodland east of Pembroke along Highway 280 yesterday. Winds pushed the fire to the point it jumped across 280. Firefighters now believe this is the result of arson.
Crews now have that one in check, but not before another suspicious fire started nearby. Near his home in Goveland, in Bulloch County, David Shuman watched the smoke move closer and closer. He knows the flames aren't far behind.
"If it gets in this sage grass, it will be across in seconds," he told us.
At the highway, fire crews were standing by to protect his home and others. But they can't get far beyond the houses.
Ted Wynn, Bulloch County's EMA director, said, "When it's in a wooded area like that, you can't get trucks in there. You can't get men and equipment in there. Forestry does the lion's share."
Rangers like Lynwood McNure with Georgia Forestry and others plowed the woods to try and isolate the fire from its fuel. "We've got four or five fire breaks right here," McNure explained early this morning.
Rangers say in these dry conditions, the fire eats up green plants fast enough with no wind. When the wind picks up, the flames are almost impossible to catch.
That's why Janet Collins started packing to evacuate when flames threatened her Pembroke home Sunday. "That was pretty scary when I realized it jumped 280," she said.
Forestry supervisor Vernon Owens says people should take the current burn ban seriously and think twice about even grilling outdoors. "People need to be careful outside because it only takes one spark for it to start."
And the last thing they need now is another fire.
Owens says they've contained the fire around Highway 280, but they're still battling the one in Bulloch County. Georgia forestry warns the smoke could spread through out this region. They warn anyone with respiratory problems to stay indoors as much as possible until it clears.
Reported by: Dal Cannady, dcannady@wtoc.com
