Evacuations ordered in Ga. wildfire

ST. GEORGE, Ga. — The wildfire burning for weeks in southeast Georgia’s Okefenokee Swamp had gotten so close that Mason Pair could see its orange glow through the trees as large flakes of ash rained down around his home in St. George.

Facing an evacuation order, Mr. Pair and his wife packed up their valuables and had a ladder standing by to put sprinklers on their roof as the flames approached over the weekend.

But like many in this small community of about 2,000 near the Georgia-Florida state line, they remained home Monday rather than leave everything to the mercy of the flames now burning less than 3 miles from the center of town.

“It’s a little unnerving,” said the 26-year-old resident. “But the flames are going to have to push people out of here.”

Emergency officials in south Georgia’s Charlton County ordered a mandatory evacuation Sunday for all of St. George and for nearby Moniac, small rural communities on the edge of the Okefenokee Swamp.

Lightning sparked a wildfire on April 6 inside the vast Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge. The blaze posed little threat to people or homes until Saturday, when strong winds pushed the flames across the fire breaks plowed along the refuge perimeter.

As of Monday, the fire had burned 210 square miles, including about 37 square miles in Charlton County.

Officials weren’t forcing people to leave their homes, but were urging them to get out before the fire gets any closer, said Susan Heisey, supervisory ranger for the Okefenokee refuge.

“The accumulated moisture in the vegetation is at record-breaking lows right now,” said Ms. Heisey, a spokeswoman for the command team fighting the blaze. “These fuels, they’re getting one little piece of ash and the fire’s just picking up and moving.”