Category Archives: Forest Fires

OSCODA COUNTY, MI – Firefighters are holding the line around a 124-acre wildfire in Northern Michigan today. This is the third day of firefighting operations around the Mapes Fire, which started on Monday, about five miles west of Mio in Oscoda County. As of this morning, the fire is 90% contained, according to the U.S. Forest Service. The fire began on private property on Mapes Road in Big Creek Township. It quickly spread to public land and has burned mostly within the Huron-Manistee National Forest. At least two structures have been destroyed. Residents on Camp 10 Road were evacuated from their homes Monday afternoon but were allowed to return later that day. Reports say the fire was caused by downed power lines and high wind speed, as determined by a Michigan Department of Natural Resources inspector. However, the USFS says the cause is under investigation.

OSCODA COUNTY, Mich. — Crews are working to contain a wildfire in Oscoda County after it prompted evacuations Monday. The wildfire is about 100 acres and primarily on national forest land around Camp Ten Road near Lost Sky Ranch. Residents living near Camp 10 Road were evacuated to a shelter Monday afternoon, but were able to return home several hours later. Monday night officials said two structures were destroyed and the fire was about 80 percent contained. …A Red Flag Warning is in effect for parts of Michigan due to critical fire weather, including high winds, low humidity and dry vegetation.

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Firefighters in South Georgia say they’re making progress, but both major wildfires remain active and far from contained. According to a Wednesday morning update from the Georgia Forestry Commission, the Pineland Road Fire has now burned 32,569 acres and is 23% contained, while the Highway 82 Fire has reached 22,601 acres and is 32% contained. Officials say crews are continuing to strengthen containment lines and push forward where conditions allow. Even as those large fires burn, crews are still responding to new ones. The agency said it handled eight additional wildfires Tuesday, burning a total of 2.8 acres statewide, not including the two major fires. The Highway 82 Fire, burning in Brantley County and impacting communities including Atkinson and Waynesville, remains a “dynamic, changing situation” due to ongoing drought and dry conditions. The entire state is under drought conditions, with that area facing what officials describe as an exceptional drought.

Related news: Blog by Johnny Sabo, GFC Director: Inside Georgia’s Wildfire Preparedness Efforts

ECHOLS COUNTY, Ga. — Firefighters battling the Pineland Road Fire in south Georgia pushed strategic “backburns” inside the evacuation zone as the wildfire grew to 32,569 acres and remained 23% contained, according to the Georgia Forestry Commission. The fire continued to challenge crews across Clinch and Echols counties with active fire behavior, the agency said in its Wednesday update. Mandatory evacuations remained in effect in Echols County… Officials reported no injuries. With permission from the Georgia Forestry Commission, Atlanta News First went inside the evacuation zone and up to the fire line. …Crews were carrying out what officials call a “strategic firing operation,” a controlled burn designed to remove dry brush and other fuel ahead of the main fire, especially in areas too dangerous for heavy equipment. Georgia Forestry Commission said the goal was to widen blackened buffer zones and prevent hidden heat deep in bogs from reigniting weeks or months later…

NAHUNTA, Ga. — Heavy rain slowed the progress of two sprawling southern Georgia wildfires over the weekend, allowing crews to make some progress in containing the blazes that have destroyed more than 100 homes. Although the rain helped the firefighting efforts, it wasn’t “nearly enough to put the fires out” and crews responded to 10 new blazes throughout the drought-stricken state Sunday, the Georgia Forestry Commission said Monday. …Georgia’s biggest blaze, the Pineland Road Fire, has scorched more than 50 square miles and at least 35 homes… about 35 miles north of Florida, which is also dealing with wildfires. The area has been full of highly combustible dead trees and other vegetation since Hurricane Helene carved a destructive path northward in September of 2024. About 60 miles to the northeast, the Highway 82 Fire has been burning since April 20. It has destroyed at least 87 homes and torched more than 35 square miles. It is only 6% contained.

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NAHUNTA, Ga. — Two wildfires in southeastern Georgia continued to threaten homes and lives on Saturday as officials warned that strong winds could spread the flames. Brantley County Manager Joey Cason called it a “dynamic situation” and begged residents to “please evacuate” if ordered to do so. “This fire is going to move rapidly once these winds get here later today,” he said. The Highway 82 Fire has been burning since Monday and has destroyed at least 87 homes. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said Friday that is the most for a single wildfire in the state’s history. The blaze was started by a foil balloon hitting live power lines. That created an electrical arc that ignited combustible material on the ground. …A joint statement issued by multiple government agencies said the fire’s perimeter was more than 14.8 square miles (38 square kilometers) and it was only about 10% contained.

Additional coverage:

• Associated Press: Growing wildfires blamed for death of Florida firefighter

Wildfires tearing through the south have forced hundreds of Georgia residents to flee in minutes, leaving them distraught about the homes and animals they left behind. The fires that spread this week during an extreme drought in Georgia and Florida have blanketed cities hundreds of miles away in smoke, leading to more air quality warnings on Thursday across the south-east. Driven by strong winds and low humidity, the two biggest fires in southern Georgia have spread rapidly over the past two days and destroyed more than 50 homes in rural areas. But the growing threat led to more evacuations and school closings on Wednesday. “I don’t know if I have a house standing or not,” said Denise Stephens, who was forced to evacuate because of the fast-moving Brantley county fire near Georgia’s coast. “I know what it’s taken from other people, but I don’t know what I have left standing.”

Additional coverage from the Associated Press in Fire Engineering: Wildfires Across GA and FL Destroy More Than 50 Homes and Force Evacuations

Wildfires burning across the south-eastern US intensified on Wednesday across parts of south-east Georgia, where 50 homes were destroyed, and across north-east Florida, forcing evacuations and school closures in some communities. The Georgia forestry commission issued its first mandatory burn ban in the state’s history, effective across 91 counties in the lower half of the state, due to worsening drought conditions and rising wildfire activity. “My office and I are working closely with the Georgia Forestry Commission to respond to the increasing threat of wildfires in South Georgia,” Governor Brian Kemp wrote on X. ”If you are in a directly affected area, please adhere to guidance from your local officials to keep you and your family safe.” Smoke from the fires drifted to Atlanta and Savannah, Georgia, as well as Jacksonville, Florida, while air quality in parts of south Georgia declined to the unhealthy category.

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A weekend off-roading excursion turned into a 20-acre wildfire in the Ocala National Forest after a vehicle’s exhaust system ignited dry grass. U.S. Forest Service (USFS) and Lake County Fire Rescue firefighting crews responded to the “Grassy Pond 3 Fire” located off Paisley Road on Saturday, April 11. According to the USFS, the fire was caused by a 4×4 vehicle that was driven off a designated trail and into a patch of soft ground. The vehicle became stuck, and despite recent rainfall in the area, the surrounding tall grass had dried enough to be ignited by the heat of the vehicle’s exhaust system. The operators and bystanders were unable to free the vehicle, which was declared a total loss. …On Sunday, the U.S. Forest Service issued a stern reminder to visitors that driving off designated trails and surfaces is both unwise and illegal on forest land.

SHELBY COUNTY, Alabama – Officials with the Alabama Forestry Commission (AFC) continued working Monday, March 30, to put out a fire in Shelby County that they say spans roughly 2,500 football fields. The wildfire, which is within the city limits of Westover, Alabama, is burning on an old game preserve near Rosewood Drive. No homes or businesses are in immediate danger. AFC officials Monday said that the fire is 90% contained. They were first called out to the fire Saturday, March 28. Tyler Givens, a unit manager with the AFC, said that the fire has been challenging to battle due to the steep, rocky terrain. “What we have to do is use leaf blowers and fall off the side of the mountain with leaf blowers and blow in a line rather than use a bulldozer because it was just inaccessible,” Givens said. 

Asheville, N.C. – USDA Forest Service firefighters are currently responding to two wildfires in western North Carolina: the Poplar Fire on the Appalachian Ranger District of the Pisgah National Forest and the lightning-caused Tarkiln Ridge Fire on the Tusquitee Ranger District of Nantahala National Forest. The nearly 100-acre Poplar Fire is located north of Poplar, North Carolina, along the east side of NC-197 in Mitchell County. The cause of the fire is under investigation. The fire is burning in an area heavily affected by Hurricane Helene, where an extensive number of downed trees are contributing to increased wildfire intensity and risk. …The Tarkiln Ridge Fire is burning in rugged terrain northwest of Hayesville, North Carolina, in Clay County near Fires Creek. Crews first responded to the fire on Monday, March 23, in an area that was previously identified as a future prescribed fire unit for hazardous fuels reduction. 

CHARLESTON, S.C. — The entirety of the State of South Carolina is now under a Red Flag Fire Alert as an intensifying drought continues to create an elevated risk of wildfires. The South Carolina Forestry Commission said they are issuing this alert to “strongly discourage people from burning outdoors” amid continuously dry conditions across the state with no end in sight. With the lack of rain and forecasts predicting both high winds and low humidity levels, the likelihood of an outdoor burn resulting in a wildfire is significantly higher than normal. The alert urges citizens to voluntarily postpone any planned burning until the alert is lifted. “Because current weather conditions are very conducive to fires escaping easily and spreading rapidly, anyone considering outdoor burning should take extra precautions if they still choose to burn under a Red Flag,” the commission said in a statement.

Warm, dry and windy weather in Oklahoma has fueled multiple wildfires and prompted authorities to urge nearly one-third of the residents of the small city of Woodward to flee. Matt Lehenbauer, director of emergency management for Woodward and its nearly 12,000 inhabitants, said the evacuation recommendation covers roughly 4,000 people. It is voluntary, he said, because Oklahoma prohibits mandatory evacuations. The wildfire in Woodward, about 140 miles northwest of Oklahoma City, is approaching a “worst-case scenario,” Lehenbauer said, but it hasn’t moved into the most populated area of the city. A blaze in Beaver County at the base of the Oklahoma Panhandle, about 217 miles northwest of Oklahoma City, has consumed an estimated 15,000 acres alone, Oklahoma Forestry Services said. 

ROLLA, Mo. — Firefighters with the Mark Twain National Forest Service are battling a wildfire in the Mark Twain National Forest south of Cassville, according to the Forest Service. The wildfire is estimated to be at 50 acres and growing, the Forest Service says. The fire is located twelve miles south of Cassville and six miles south of Seligman. Fire crews are utilizing three Forest Service engines, two dozers and the Mark Twain Veteran Crew to fight the fire, as well as a drone to help coordinate the response.