A fire Sunday in Long County’s Sand Hill community destroyed several structures and damaged vehicles.
Ludowici/Long County Assistant Fire Chief Richard Truman said the department received a call at around 4:30 p.m. Sunday that several spot fires were burning alongside the road near Walden Farm in Long County. The farm is owned by Alonzo Walden, a former Hinesville City Council member and owner of Liberty Ice Co. The land is adjacent to the intersection of Highway 196 and Smith Berry Road.
Truman said that by the time firefighters arrived at the scene, the fire had spread over much of the farm’s open pasture. The responding units requested assistance from local departments and tried to contain the blaze.
The assistant chief said that with the assistance of the Tattnall County, Gum Branch and Hinesville fire departments, the Georgia Department of Forestry and the Long State Prison fire brigade, it took a little more than three hours to extinguish the flames. Before the fire was under control, however, Truman said it destroyed three storage structures and damaged several trailers and vehicles, including a dump truck and a tractor.
A Gum Branch firefighter had to be transported to Winn Army Community Hospital on Fort Stewart for heat exhaustion and minor smoke inhalation but was treated and released later that night.
According to the assistant chief, the cause of the fire is unknown, but it still is under investigation.