Gilmer had 18 brush fires in a week
Brush fires have been persistent foes for Gilmer and Georgia Forestry firefighters over the past week — so much so that an emergency burn ban has been issued.
The temporary burn ban, which was issued on Monday, is for all outdoor burning including, but not limited to: debris removal, campfires, barrel burning, leaf clearing, land clearing (both residential and commercial) and recreational warming fires.
The ban, which is being reinforced by Gilmer Fire and Rescue, the Ellijay Fire Department and East Ellijay Public Safety, will remain in effect until Monday, Nov. 20. It could be extended if weather conditions haven’t improved by then.
“It’s for the safety of the entire county. We are currently in level 5 fire danger conditions, which is the highest level,” said Gilmer County Deputy Fire Chief Jason Bryant.
Over the seven-day period ending Nov. 5, there were 18 brush fires in the county that required attention from local emergency response agencies. That includes fires on roads off Highway 282, near Highway 515 and Old Northcutt Road, on Homer Wright Road and near Ray Mountain Road and Highway 515, according to Gilmer Fire.
“Most of it has been from outdoor burning and ashes or embers getting out and catching stuff on fire,” said Bryant.
On Friday, a Georgia Forestry Commission (GFC) crew was still working to put down a large brush fire in the Hap Holt Road area near Carters Lake, which was later contained. Also on Friday, another wildfire broke out, eventually spanning 50 acres in the Mountaintown/Zion Hill area of the county. By Monday, that fire had been contained by forestry commission personnel.
“There’s been quite a few brush fires. Most of them we’ve been able to handle ourselves and be able to put them out. Any time that forest fires happen, we typically will contact Georgia Forestry pretty quickly,” said Bryant. “The one in the Hap Holt area that Georgia Forestry is handling is a pretty significant one with the amount of acres that was burning.”
Mason Turner, chief ranger of forestry commission offices in Gilmer and Pickens County, said firefighters were told the Hap Holt Road fire may have been sparked by a campfire, but it’s still under investigation.
“It started on Oct. 29 and was originally about five acres. We attempted to put in a hand line, which is done with manpower and tools, that evening. It held until the next morning, but the fire escaped our breaks the next day. That’s when we decided to make our box a little bigger and get a dozer line (put in),” he added. “It ended up being a total of 41 acres. It’s contained at this time, but there’s still some stuff that’s smoldering and will continue to do so until we get some rain.”
Turner said that fire did not endanger any homes.
“It’s all forested land. They cut a road in to be developed, but there’s nothing but trees in there, no houses,” he added.
The Mountaintown/Zion Hill wildfire is believed to have originated from an electrical fire in a home that spread, noted Turner. This fire is also still under investigation.
“The structure fire caused the wildfire,” Turner said. “We ended up getting it controlled on Nov. 4 right after midnight, and we worked it till about 3 in the morning doing a burnout operation. That’s where we’ve got unburnt fuel between our control lines and the actual fire. We then secured that line and haven’t had any problems out of it. We’re still going back and actively checking it periodically. It will also probably smolder till we get some good rain.”
It’s not uncommon for brush fires in the county to increase when the fall leaves start coming down, confirmed Bryant. This year, burning in early fall is much riskier following a very dry summer, which created environmental conditions that help flames catch and spread more quickly. That includes very low humidity levels and a dry duff layer of ground cover, which usually provides some level of moisture underneath newly fallen leaves.
“(Brush fires) are fairly normal this time of year. We live in a pretty rural area, and people like to clear land and burn brush and leaves,” Bryant said. “But a fire can really take off quick this time of year with the humidity getting so low and the lack of rain. Once it gets out of control, it gets out of control fast.”
The recent outbreak of wildfires has not been exclusive to Gilmer County, confirmed GFC forester Ritchie Mullen. Forestry firefighters are also battling multiple brush fires in several other north Georgia counties.
“It’s been all over northwest Georgia, but the majority of it is in Walker and Dade County. They’ve had up to 20 fires in each county,” Mullen said. “We’ve got fires in north Georgia ranging from a half acre to almost 1,500 acres in Walker County.”
The Gilmer Emergency Management Agency posts National Weather Service Red Flag and High Fire Danger Warnings on its Facebook page when applicable conditions are present. Both those warnings were issued multiple times over the past week.
“They have a very specific purpose — to help us understand and be aware of the risks taken during outdoor burning,” said a comment from Gilmer EMA about why the warnings are issued. “We have such immense exposure this time of year (with) dry leaves, deadfall, low humidity, wind and very, very little rain. This combination puts our wood-frame and log homes in great danger, not to mention our children, family and ourselves.”
Prior to the emergency burn ban going into effect on Monday, the forestry commission had already put a hold on issuing outdoor burn permits in the county, noted Turner.
“We’re not issuing any permits allowing any type of outdoor burning, for residential debris or anything like that,” he said.