Wildfire — Charlton, Georgia

2017-05-01 to 2017-05-31 · Charlton, Georgia

Event narrative

On May 6th at 1:22 pm, the fire had burned 116,571 acres and was 12% contained. Evacuations and road closures were taking place in St. George due to the fire blowing across State Road 94.

Wider weather episode

The West Mims Wildfire burned in the John Bethea State Forest in northern Baker county, the Osceola National Forest in northern Columbia County and mostly impacted the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge in Ware and Charlton counties of SE Georgia during May. The fire made several large runs and burned over 150,000 acres by the end of the month. The town of St. George was evacuated during a large out of containment burned on the SE side of the fire. An extended period of very dry long term drought and above normal warmth created dangerous fire growth conditions. In addition, an extended period of strong WNW winds with gusts of 20-35 mph impacted the fire site at times.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 692897. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.