THOMAS COUNTY, GA — A State of Emergency is in effect for 91 Georgia counties as extreme drought fuels 27,000 acres of wildfires, impacting farmers and wildlife.
WATCH FULL REPORT BELOW:
Governor Brian Kemp’s office declared the emergency as an extreme drought builds across the state. Nearly 98% of Georgia is experiencing moderate to exceptional drought conditions.
The dryness has fueled a sharp rise in wildfires, pushing the number of fires above the five-year average this month. Farmers say the land is turning into fuel, allowing even small sparks to spread much faster than usual.
"Most people when they burn like prescribed burning, they'll try to burn 40 to 50% of the top natural layer, and now they're burning 70 to 90% because it's so dry," farmer Rusty Davis said.
To limit new fires during these dangerous conditions, the Georgia Forestry Commission issued a 30-day burn ban for 91 counties across South Georgia.
The ongoing fires are burning away natural habitats.
"Anything that nests like your turkey, your quail, anything that's nesting on the ground and laying their eggs to hatch them off, it's going to burn all that up," Davis said.
The loss of habitat forces wildlife out of the woods and into nearby areas, including farm fields, as they search for food and green forage to survive.
"They're going to go to where the green vegetation is so they can eat. And if there ain't no vegetation in the woods, they're going to go to the quickest source of green forages that they can get a hold of and use this on maybe the nearby corn field, to peanut field, cotton fields," Davis said.
Davis says farmers worried about the pressure on their crops can reduce fuel sources by clearing dry grass and debris away from fields and tree lines to help slow the spread of fire.
Maintaining a large water supply and constant irrigation is also essential to ease the effects of the drought and prevent wildfires, even if it is costly.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
Want to see more local news? Visit the WTXL ABC 27 Website.
Stay in touch with us anywhere, anytime.
Like us on Facebook
Follow us on Instagram and X.
