There were 2 huge wildfires in South Georgia this spring. Just fighting them cost $35M

Caption

Georgia Forestry Commission firefighters watch as the Pineland Road Fire consumes a stretch of planted pines in Clinch County in April 2026.

The Georgia Forestry Commission says two wildfires that burned for more than a month in South Georgia earlier this spring cost the state $35 million. 

The agency’s director, Johnny Sabo, gave state lawmakers a detailed account of the difficult and weather-vexed firefighting efforts on Thursday. 

He called the smaller of the two fires, the one in Brantley County, "the worst home loss we’ve ever had from a single fire in this state."

That fire, called the Highway 82 Fire, destroyed 110 homes while firefighters from 35 states managed to save another 350 homes. At its peak, more than 600 people from 100 fire departments were working on the Brantly County blaze. 

Closer to the Florida border, the larger of the two fires, the one in Clinch and Echols counties, burned through largely unpopulated timberland. The only structural damage from that fire, called the Pineland Road Fire, was minor and destroyed only hunting camps. 

But Sabo said that, at one point, the fire threatened to jump a road and blaze toward the community of Statenville. He credits firefighters from Florida with keeping the fire from populated areas. 

"If we wouldn’t have had that cooperation, I don’t know if we would’ve held it on this road," he said. 

While officials believe the Highway 82 fire was caused by a balloon hitting a power line and the Pineland Road fire was caused by sparks from welding, both fires were fueled by exceptionally dry vegetation that had not seen any significant rainfall in months. 

At least 30 aircraft, including helicopters and air tankers, were used to help douse the flames, including both fires. 

"Between us and Florida this past year, we’ve done more tanker drops in about two weeks than we did in all the other years combined in the histories of our states," Sabo said.

He called those efforts "absolutely crucial" and said that, at one point, crews started to run out of jet fuel and fire retardant from their supply in Lake City, Fla., so they switched to getting them from Chattanooga, Tenn. 

Sabo gave the update to members of the Georgia House Rural Development Committee, who were meeting in Vidalia, Ga., and thanked the lawmakers for providing funding for the agency. 

He said the commission’s annual budget was $52 million dollars.