Debris from Hurricane Helene is helping fuel Georgia's wildfires

NAHUNTA, Ga. (AP) — The destructive wildfires tearing done Georgia this week are being fed by not lone a persistent drought, but besides by fallen trees and limbs scattered crossed the South by Hurricane Helene good implicit a twelvemonth ago.

Blustery winds besides are helping ignite and grow the fires successful Georgia and Florida that person blanketed parts of respective states successful smoke, starring to aerial prime warnings Thursday successful cities acold from the blazes.

The upwind forecast Thursday appeared to pass of different high-risk day, with shifting winds that could nonstop embers flying successful each directions a large concern.

Hundreds of residents person been forced from their homes adjacent Georgia's coast, wherever a wildfire destroyed much than 50 homes and threatened galore more. Georgia's biggest occurrence adjacent the Florida authorities enactment doubled successful size successful little than a time and by Thursday had burned done a sparsely populated country that's doubly the size of Manhattan.

Images from the devastated areas amusement the shells of charred cars and trucks sitting adjacent to the smoldering ruins of homes nestled among blackened trees.

Many who were forced to fly this week were near distraught astir the homes and animals they near behind.

“I don’t cognize if I person a location lasting oregon not,” said Denise Stephens, who evacuated her location adjacent Hortense due to the fact that of the fast-moving Brantley County fire. “I cognize what it’s taken from different people, but I don’t cognize what I person near standing.”

Wood debris littering the state’s confederate fractional since Hurricane Helene churned done successful September 2024 has enabled Georgia's 2 biggest fires to dispersed and intensify quickly, officials said.

“There’s a ton of aged Hurricane Helene debris down successful the woods,” said Seth Hawkins, a Georgia Forestry Commission spokesperson. “It’s lying astir and it’s conscionable a tinderbox retired there.”

The forestry committee estimated that Helene swept crossed astir 14,000 quadrate miles (36,000 quadrate kilometers) of forestland statewide, striking areas wherever trees are grown for insubstantial and lumber.

In Helene’s wake, cleanup efforts were rolled retired crossed confederate Georgia. The authorities enactment up astir $135 cardinal to assistance backstage timberland owners region fallen trees, and the Army Corps of Engineers hauled disconnected millions of cubic yards of debris.

But they couldn’t get everything.

“The mode Helene conscionable threw everything down similar matchsticks, there’s lone truthful overmuch you tin bash abbreviated of bulldozing everything,” Hawkins said. “There are large pockets of woods retired determination wherever radical don’t locomotion astir excessively much. So it conscionable benignant of gets near there.”

It isn't known yet however the wildfires started, but the bottommost fractional of Georgia and bluish Florida are some highly dry.

In Florida, firefighters were battling much than 130 wildfires, mostly successful the state’s bluish half. Fire crews successful Georgia responded to 34 caller and comparatively tiny blazes Wednesday, the forestry committee said.

Smoke from the wildfires was drifting crossed a ample country of the Southeast, making the aerial unhealthy connected Thursday for children and those with lung oregon bosom problems successful cities arsenic acold arsenic Columbia, South Carolina. A haze hung implicit Atlanta’s skyline a time earlier and determination was a smoky odor crossed the metro area.

Officials are hoping for rainfall to assistance tame the fires. There’s a 30% to 40% accidental of showers oregon thunderstorms successful the country of some large Georgia fires this weekend, according to the National Weather Service. While showers could bring immoderate invited relief, thunderstorms could besides nutrient lightning susceptible of sparking much fires.

___

Martin reported from Atlanta and Bynum from Savannah. Associated Press newsman John Seewer successful Toledo, Ohio, contributed.

Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This worldly whitethorn not beryllium published, broadcast, rewritten oregon redistributed without permission.