Meeting held to update residents on Big Ridge Fire in Rabun County

RABUN COUNTY, Ga. - Firefighters are making slow progress on the Big Ridge Fire in Rabun County, which has burned more than 2,700 acres and remains only 8% contained as of the latest update on Sunday. 

What we know:

Nearly 250 personnel are battling the blaze, working both on the ground and from the air to bring the fire under control. Over the weekend, emergency management officials met to coordinate suppression efforts and answer questions from concerned residents.

A specialized Rapid Extraction Module Support (REMS) team has also been deployed to the fire zone. The REMS unit is tasked with quickly transporting firefighters off the fireline for medical treatment in the event of an emergency.

As firefighting efforts continue, local officials are urging residents to sign up for "CodeRED" alerts—a free emergency notification system provided by Rabun County. The system allows emergency managers to issue mass alerts to residents with critical safety information.

Click here for more information about the fire. Click here to sign up for CODE RED alerts.