BRANTLEY COUNTY, Fla. — Brantley County Officials say that the Highway 82 Wildfire containment level reached 64% Saturday afternoon at 22,532 acres, a 19% jump from Saturday morning.
Casey Tudor with the Georgia Forestry partially attributes this win to the rainfall the county received Saturday afternoon. Action News Jax First Alert Weather Team says that Brantley County saw .5 to 1.5 inches of rain.
“This rain has been a real blessing for us,” Tudor said. “It’s allowed us to really kind of get out in front of this thing and really continue to reinforce and mop up some areas where there’s still heat signatures.”
Additionally, Karen Gleason with the Southern Area Incident Management Team, told Action News Jax that all mandatory evacuations in the area have been lifted after more than two weeks.
But even with the higher containment level, Tudor says that the rain poses its own set of challenges.
“It can hide smoke and heat signatures to the naked eye,” Tudor said. “So, our guys that are out walking containment lines and looking for these hot spots, it has been more of a challenge for them today with the rain.”
Tudor says the team has been using UAS, or unmanned aircraft systems, with thermal imaging technology. This allows them to spot heat signatures that may be hiding behind the rain.
But even though containment levels are up, Tudor says things can always change for the worse.
“Anything is possible,” Tudor said. “I don’t say that to panic anybody, it’s just we really have to watch those hot spots, especially because if there are unburned fuels around there, and they continue to smolder and eventually kick back up, they could ignite fuels around them.”
Gleason says that if conditions hold, they will be able to open up Highway 32 after more than two weeks.
County officials say that the wildfire is responsible for 110 homes destroyed, something Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp called a historic record for the state.
Please join Action News Jax and Cox Media Group Jacksonville Radio in partnering with the Salvation Army to support the wildfire relief fund.
All donations will stay right here at home to help the families in Brantley County.
Just VISIT THIS LINK and under the drop-down menu that says, “What would you like your donation to support?” select “South Georgia Fires (April 2026).”
>>> 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.
