Wed., August 12, 2009 3:36pm (EDT)

Stimulus Funds Go Toward Okefenokee Firebreak

By Orlando Montoya

Updated: 4 years ago

SAVANNAH, Ga.  —   The Georgia Forestry Commission is getting nearly $3.6 million in federal stimulus money to build a mile-wide firebreak around the Okefenokee National Wildlire Refuge.

The idea for the project came after the devastating fires of 2007 that charred hundreds of thousands of acres in Georgia and Florida.

The firebreak will be a fire-resistant zone of reduced brush, open spaces, longleaf pines and helicopter dip sites.

Contractors will be hired to do most of the work, which should be complete in 18 months.