Reports from other media over the weekend said spot fires continued to flare up, but that Sunday's brief storm helped firefighters in Long County get blazes there under control.
Fires continued to plague Long County over the weekend, burning 600 acres and destroying two deserted mobile homes.
According to Georgia Forestry Commission Long County Ranger Paul Robertson, a fire was reported on the east side of Smiley Cross Roads at around 3 p.m. Friday. He said the fire jumped to the other side of the road, continuing to burn between 500-600 acres.
In addition to the fire destroying the woods, the ranger said it also burned to the ground two deserted mobile homes on Wilderness Road.
Smiley Cross Roads resident David Myers was at his home during the fire and said it nearly reached several homes in the area, including his.
“I was in the living room at around 3:30 p.m. when I heard a commotion, so I went outside to see what was going on. When I got outside, smoke was everywhere. You could see across the road where the fire had reached right up to where the houses were, burning some of the homes’ backyards,” Myers said.
Robertson said firefighters battled the blaze into Friday evening and then continued to fight the fire Saturday. He said that as of noon Saturday, the fire was 95 percent contained in fire breaks.
As of Saturday, no injuries had resulted from the fire, and it still was under investigation, according to Robertson.
Ludowici/Long County Fire Department Station Capt. Alex Mason said that 34 apparatus/fire trucks, 14 forestry plows and 110 firefighters were involved in fighting the fire.
Some of the other agencies that worked on the fire were from Richmond Hill Fire Department, Bryan County Fire Department, Hinesville Fire Department, McIntosh County Fire Department and the Gum Branch Fire and Emergency Services.
The Smiley Cross Roads fire is the latest of several fires to take place in Long County. On Saturday, firefighters still were working on a fire that began Thursday in the Donald Community. It had been under control but jumped fire breaks Friday night. According to Robertson, that fire burned between 125-150 acres.
Officials in Long County are urging residents not to conduct any burning of any kind in the county due to excessive fire conditions.