04-03-2025
Wildfires, on the heels of hurricanes, burn through the South
Wildfires are raging across Georgia and North and South Carolina. The last few weeks of dry, windy conditions in the South are extremely conducive to fire. Now hundreds of separate fires have caught and thousands of acres have burned, per Axios.
Dozens of people have evacuated while firefighters combat the blazes.
Wildfires in central Georgia are at 80% containment on Tuesday; North Carolina's largest fire was 63% contained on the evening of Monday; and South Carolina's largest fire, the Carolina Forest fire, is 30% contained as of Tuesday.
'Human involvement is the reason behind these fires and the answer to preventing them as well,' said Georgia Forestry Commission Protection Chief Thomas Barrett in a statement.
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins plans to visit the region on Friday, per NC Newsline.
Though less prevalent than the annual fires that can impact California and the Northwest, the thick, expansive forests in rural parts of Georgia and the Carolinas pose serious risk for wildfires in dry seasons. Moreover, the state's five-year average for wildfires has increased, meaning greater danger and more ruined acres of land, per Patch
'Any spark that takes hold outdoors is capable of igniting a large wildfire,' reported Barrett. 'That means one ember from a backyard leaf pile, grill or campfire can spark a dangerous fire. Also hot machinery on dry grasses or a tossed cigarette.'
According to the National Interagency Fire Center, Georgia is 'in the red' for March, meaning it is at much greater risk than usual for wildfires.
A Georgia Forestry Commission spokesperson said that nearly 6,200 acres had burned as of March 3, per WSB-TV. Firefighters mainly attribute causes to humans burning things outdoors.
One person has died so far, according to Patch.
Rain is due late in the day on Tuesday and throughout Wednesday, but the commission expects wildfire danger to remain high throughout the month.
'Just don't burn outdoors,' said commission spokesperson Wendy Burnett. 'Save it for another day. Those leaves and limbs will be there in a week or a month, whenever it becomes safe to burn them up.'
Georgia's wildfires follow just months on the heels of Hurricane Debby in August 2024, which caused tremendous flooding and two deaths, and Hurricane Helene in September, which devastated Georgia's power system, provoked massive destruction, including landslides, and killed over 30 Georgians.
On Sunday, Gov. Henry McMaster responded to over 175 active blazes by declaring a state of emergency in South Carolina.
Though the Carolinas will receive the same cold front that will usher in rain in Georgia, this is too late for the dozens of people who have evacuated their homes in both states. Thousands of acres have burned. The South Carolina National Guard even came in with helicopters and dropped 600 gallons of water at a time on several of the fires.
The largest fire in South Carolina, the Carolina Forest Fire, broke out only 5 miles north of Myrtle Beach, which remains open.
Meanwhile, 189 fires have caught in North Carolina as of Tuesday, per USA Today.
'The brave men and women of the U.S. Forest Service began responding immediately to the fires in the Carolinas,' said Secretary Rollins in a statement. 'We will ensure they have the resources, personnel and support they need to swiftly put out the fires. They are working closely with state and local partners, and we are grateful for all the firefighters working on the frontlines.'
Like Georgia, North and South Carolina were also partially devastated by hurricanes Debby and Helene, according to the USDA. Lives were lost in both states.
Researchers at North Carolina State University have found that wildfires in the region are also growing worse on average.
They also predict that increasingly dry weather, pushed by human-caused climate change, will heighten temperatures and increase the number of acres burned every year.
