Drought in Western Charlton, Georgia

Lack of rainfall continuing into February combined with multiple hard freeze events resulted in worsening drought conditions into Extreme (D3) with the February 10th drought monitor update. These conditions continued throughout the month of February. On February 22nd, Georgia Forestry Commission responded to a wildfire caused by a downed powerline at approximately 3:00 p.m. this afternoon north of Folkston along Hwy 301. Upon arrival, the fire was estimated at 100 acres. The wildfire increased to an estimated 697 acres and stretched nearly 2 miles from U.S.-301 to County Road 252.

Below normal rainfall as well as multiple hard freezes inland continued during the month of February, persisting extreme drought (D3) conditions for the same areas as January, and also upgrading some severe drought zones (D2) to extreme drought (D3). Severe to extreme drought conditions combined with dried available fuels resulted in numerous wildfires developing across southeast Georgia.