BRANTLEY COUNTY, Ga. — K-12 students in Brantley County wrapped up the first day of the 2026-2027 school year Tuesday.
It comes as the last school year was cut short for some students due to the Highway 82 Wildfire.
“He’s excited to see all his friends,” said parent Crista Graham. “Some of his friends were impacted, so he was excited to check on them and see how they’re doing.”
The fire destroyed more than 100 homes and forced thousands of people to evacuate.
And over 4 months later, some families are still recovering.
“I live off of Browntown Road, and it’s nice going down there and seeing trailers being put back to these students.”
Tina Gibson is a Paraprofessional at Waynesville Primary School in Brantley County. We spoke with her in April after she helped evacuate students from the school due to the fire.
She says seeing the students come back to the classroom today smiling was rewarding.
“Not only do the kids need normalcy, but us adults need it too, to get back in our structures and our schedules. And it’s just been great getting starting a new year with all that behind us,” said Gibson.
We reached out to Brantley County Superintendent Dr. Walker Todd for an interview and to see how the first day of school went.
He was not available for an interview. His team says all went smoothly this morning.
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