Several homes in St. George, Georgia have been evacuated due to a growing wildfire in Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge. Evacuation is mandatory for this town of 2,000 that is alarmingly close to the fire. According to officials, the fire is about 12 percent contained at this point. Here’s more on this devastating West Mims fire in Georgia:
The wildfire started on April 6th, when a lighting bolt struck the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge in southeastern Georgia.
Since then, over 118,000 acres have been burned by this month-long wildfire.
Monday saw the worst of the West Mims fire, which burned less than half a mile from some of St. George’s residences.
The weekend’s weather of low humidity paired with high temperatures made containing the fire that much more difficult.
The evacuation was made mandatory on Sunday, after the fire had spread beyond the boundaries of Okefenokee.
This fire is so severe, in fact, that smoke and falling ash have reached Jacksonville, Florida at 30 miles away.
Fortunately, the fire’s activity is expected to lessen as weather conditions become more moderate. As always, we are grateful for the firefighters and officials working tirelessly to control the situation.
Photo from our friends at the #OkefenokeeNationalWildlifeRefuge - view from approach to the JAX airport yesterday. pic.twitter.com/j0iu2iWuj0
— GAForestryCommission (@GaTrees) May 7, 2017
Our thoughts go out to anyone in the area who has been affected by this devastating wildfire. If you’d like to share any thoughts on the matter, feel free to do so.
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