BRANTLEY COUNTY, Ga. — The Highway 82 fire in Brantley County is 75% contained, and all evacuation zones have been lifted. That’s the latest in a wildfire that forced thousands of people to evacuate, according to officials.
“It seems like it would be positive for the fire to be contained, and it is, but we know that there is still a lot of heat out on the fire,” said Karen Gleason, Public Information Officer for the Southern Area Complex Incident Management team.
This is the message Gleason has for Brantley County residents, as the Highway 82 wildfire fight wraps its 14th day.
As of Monday, the fire is 22,471 acres, according to officials.
“We still have plenty of firefighters out there, a total of 622 personnel on this fire,” said Gleason.
Gleason says crews are now focusing on what they call ‘Mop up.’
“‘Mop up’ is where you find all of the spots of the fire where you still have heat and you try to cool those down just like you would cool down a campfire,” said Gleason.
The curfew has also been lifted. However, Gleason says the fight against this fire is still ongoing.
“We know there is heat because we’ve been using infrared technology to detect it,” said Gleason. “We know there are hundreds and hundreds of hotspots both around the edge of the fire and then on the interior of the fire.”
Gleason says as long as there is heat on this fire, there will be somebody managing it. However, she does note that in terms of the risk to homes, they are in the clear.
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