Firefighters spend weekend on Treat Mountain
Polk County's local problems with brush fires continues to worsen despite repeated reminders that the burn ban remains in effect past the Oct. 1 deadline.
It only got worse over the weekend as fires on Treat Mountain burned hundreds of acres on Nov. 18, then again on the weekend days, forcing families to flee from flames.
Two homes were also destroyed by flames, including a Buchanan Highway fire at Cedartown CJ Trucking Company with multiple explosions, according to Kattie Trammell from Polk County Public Safety.
She said a second fire in the early morning hours of Monday also broke out in a structure on McBride Road.
That was after the fire department helped battle fires over the weekend at Brewster Field and Elders Lake with the assistance from the Georgia Forestry Commission.
It's a big problem for Polk County Public Safety Director Randy Lacey, who said the dangers for a big fire to break out are growing every day without any rain.
Since the ban was extended past October, Polk County's firefighters have responded to 65 brush, grass or woods fires, 18 smoke scares, 15 structure fires and 8 unauthorized burns of material. These numbers were reported as of
Nov. 15, and do not include any fires that happened over the weekend.
Some 39 of those came in October alone, and another 26 of the brush, grass and woods fires coming since the start of the month as of Tuesday afternoon.
"The big problem is people think that they can go out and burn a little brush and it's no big deal," he said. "That's far from the truth right now."
Denise Croker, the Chief Ranger Senior for the Georgia Forestry Commission in Polk, Paulding and Cobb counties sent reports all last week about the increased dangers, which will continue so long as dry and cool weather with low humidity persists.
The Treat Mountain Fire, which started in Alabama in previous weeks and has since spread across the state line in places, will likely continue to burn along with others with the forecast calling for continued dry and windy conditions for the day.
It was advancing toward the Tallapoosa area as of the weekend, according to Croker.
Lacey and Croker, and city fire chiefs Todd Queen and Darrell Stephens ask all residents to stop burning any trash, brush, or other items they would normally burn this time of year with a permit.
They also ask that extra care be taken by those parking on the sides of the road for extended periods of time, or those who are hauling items around county roadways and are using chains to secure their loads.
"Any spark right now is going to cause a fire," said Lacey.
Along with the burn ban, Gov. Nathan Deal also added Polk County to a list of dozens in the state under severe drought conditions who can't use fireworks outdoors until wet weather finally arrives over Georgia.
Lacey said he felt this was more of a preventative measure for the moment, more focused on keeping people from using fireworks during the holiday season and on New Year's Eve than at the current moment.
He also said the burn ban will be strictly enforced, with those who violate the policy and are caught will face fines for lighting a fire of any size without a permit.