BRANTLEY COUNTY, Ga. — Brantley County officials say the Highway 82 wildfire has doubled in the last 24 hours, now spanning over 22,000 acres.
As of 10:30 p.m. Sunday evening, the wildfire is at 6% containment and is up against the borders of Brantley, Wayne and Glynn counties.
Some roads in Atkinson, where the wildfire crossed earlier this week, have since opened up.
Living in this area is Sherry Dean, who says she’s lived in her home since 1967.
“My children grew up here,” Dean said. “I have a daughter, 56, and twins, 52, one boy and a girl. This is their home.”
She says she evacuated her home on Tuesday and was under the impression it was gone, like many of the other homes on her street. Luckily, both her home and her business, Dean’s Barber and Beauty, were spared from the flames.
Officials say the wildfire is responsible for at least 90 homes and businesses lost in addition to 55 smaller structures, like sheds.
“It’s unbelievable,” Dean said. “It really is unbelievable to look and see what I was burned up around here. Brushy Creek, just across here, there’s a lot of burned houses.”
On Friday, State Governor Brian Kemp said that the Highway 82 fire and the Pineland fire are among the worst the state of Georgia has ever seen. He says they’ve set a record for the most homes lost to wildfires in the state.
The Southern Area Incident Management Team has now taken operational control over the fire.
>>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<
[DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks]
[SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter]
Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.
