The Hinesville fire near Terrell Mill Pond that temporarily closed Ga. Highway 196 earlier this week is about
60 percent contained.

According to information provided by Nicole Hawk, public affairs specialist for the USDA Forest Service, the Chattahoochee-Oconee Type 3 Incident Management Team is assisting the Georgia Forestry Commission with managing the blaze. On Thursday, 50 personnel — including overhead staff, dozer operators and a hand crew — had been assigned to the fire.

Using 10 bulldozers and other equipment, fire crews on Wednesday built a control line around the blaze and successfully contained one spot fire that broke out. Although smoke from the fire decreased visibility in the afternoon, there were no additional road closures.

Wednesday night’s rain saturated the ground, making it difficult to use heavy equipment, so ground crews worked Thursday morning to improve control lines, according to Hawk’s release.

Currently, the fire is not threatening any residential or commercial structures. Firefighters will act in conjunction with local law enforcement and safety officers if smoke from the fire begins to impact roads again.