Firefighters 'contain' Douglas County wood fire, smoke remain heavy day after it began
Smoke from a wood fire in Douglas County on June 15, 2022.
DOUGLAS COUNTY, Ga. - Douglas County firefighters said a wood fire raged with flames about 60 feet high on Tuesday, and it's still burning about 24 hours later.
The fire is subdued now, officials said, and there's no immediate danger to the public. The billowing smoke was still apparent from SKYFOX 5 at around 11:30 a.m. Douglas County Fire Department Deputy Chief Miles Allen said the fire is a "woodpile" off of Highway 61 near High Point Road. No one was hurt, he said, but the fire is on private property.
Allen said there are collections of lumber in the area and the fire started from an unauthorized burn. There is currently a burn ban in effect.
Allen said the fire is contained and surrounded by "firebreaks."
"We're in the process of developing an incident action plan," he said.
The biggest issue firefighters said they're dealing with is smoke and the heat.
"We're constantly monitoring the situation," Allen said. "We're doing 15 to 20-minute checks to make sure everyone is good."
Austin Rowland with the Georgia Forestry Commission said the fires could have been worse. There were about four acres involved and the fire spread into the woods. Officials prevented a potential wildfire and stayed at the scene overnight Tuesday until about 7 a.m.
The Georgia Environmental Protection Division responded on Tuesday to assess what was burning and if there was more danger to the public. Jim Cooley, Director of District Operations for Georgia EPD, said the fire fuel is mostly made up of wood particles and isn't dangerous to residents' health.
"As it stands right now, the smoke's going up in the air and we don't have immediate concerns based on the evaluation we've done," Cooley said.