Firefighters called up a giant air tanker to attack a rapidly growing wildfire that threatened homes Tuesday on the edge of the Okefenokee Swamp near the Georgia-Florida state line.
The modified DC-10 jet liner, capable of dumping 11,600 gallons (44,000 liters) of chemical fire retardant in a single run, was joining nearly 700 firefighters and support personnel working to contain the blaze with bulldozers, helicopters and smaller planes.
The fire was burning Tuesday within a few miles (kilometers) of the small towns of St. George and Moniac in southeast Georgia. Emergency officials in surrounding Charlton County ordered those communities to evacuate as flames crept close Sunday.
James Burnsed of Moniac remained at home Tuesday, though he said he could see the orange glow of flames through the trees outside his house Monday night. He said most of his neighbors had also stayed and were running lawn sprinklers in their yards in hopes grasses and plants wouldn’t burn. “It’s absolutely not the best idea,” Burnsed said. “We just don’t want to lose our stuff and we want to protect it if we can.”
The fire has burned roughly 220 square miles (570 square kilometers) since a lightning strike ignited the blaze April 6 inside the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge. The flames mostly stayed on public lands and posed no threat to populated areas until Saturday, when strong winds pushed the fire across the protective barrier plowed around the swamp’s perimeter.
From The Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/georgia-wildfire-hot-dry-conditions-vexing-to-firefighters/2017/05/09/88e8dd96-348e-11e7-ab03-aa29f656f13e_story.html?utm_term=.f0967480cd23