Amanda Bishop
NCR Editor & Publisher
Callahan and Hilliard volunteer firefighters and several Georgia fire partners joined Charlton County Fire Rescue and the Georgia Forestry Commission in battling a nearly 600-acre wildfire Feb. 22.
According to information from the Charlton County Emergency Management Agency, a downed power line sparked a fire mid-afternoon Sunday in the area of Highway 301 and Humphries Mining Road in Charlton County, just north of the Florida-Georgia state line.
Several homes were evacuated as the fire raged, growing quickly as wind gusts occurred. It stretched nearly 2 miles from Highway 301 to Highway 252, just north of Folkston. As many as 75 homes and approximately 150 outbuildings were within or near the fire footprint, according to the Georgia Forestry Commission.
“There is confirmed minor damage to one structure and assessments are ongoing,” GFC shared on social media late Sunday evening.
Fire agencies responding included Charlton, Town of Callahan Station 5 volunteers, Town of Hilliard Station 4 volunteers, and firefighters from Brantley, Camden Glynn and Ware counties in Georgia, and volunteers from several other Georgia volunteer fire departments. The Charlton County and Camden County Sheriff’s Office also responded.
Charlton County Fire Rescue is a volunteer fire department relying on community members willing to help their neighbors in times of emergency. After the fire, the entity posted on social media, asking more community members to become involved in serving their community.
During Sunday’s wildfire, OREMC and Georgia Power addressed infrastructure impacts.
The fire was fully contained with light operations underway Monday morning to monitor hot spots.
The Charlton County Board of Commissioners adopted a burn ban Sunday. Nassau County was not under any burn ban as of press time.