Wildfires across Georgia and Florida destroy more than 50 homes and
force evacuations
[April 23, 2026]
By RUSS BYNUM and JEFF MARTIN
NAHUNTA, Ga. (AP) — Huge plumes of smoke blanketed swaths of the
Southeast on Wednesday as crews battled rapidly growing wildfires that
destroyed more than 50 homes in Georgia and forced hundreds to flee the
drought- and wind-fueled flames.
Some of the biggest blazes were near Georgia’s coast, while others were
popping up in northern Florida, a state facing one of its worst fire
seasons in decades.
It was not yet clear how the wildfires started, but the bottom half of
Georgia is perilously dry and the conditions prompted the state's
forestry commission to issue a burn ban for the first time in its
history. Southeastern Georgia has seen just 11 inches (28 centimeters)
of rain since the beginning of September — almost 15 inches (38
centimeters) below normal, the National Weather Service said.
The fires spread so quickly in that area that residents received no
warnings or alerts.
“I wish that I had knew something more,” said Brianna Elliott, who left
home Tuesday only to find her route back blocked by the fires 90 minutes
later. “I would have turned around in that moment and gone home and got
my animals before anything.”
She now fears that her home and her dogs are gone.
Georgia’s two biggest wildfires together have burned more than 53 square
miles (137.3 square kilometers), and crews responded Wednesday to 34
smaller fires newly burning across the state, the state's forestry
commission said.
Dry timber feeds Georgia fires
The fast-moving Brantley County fire threatened roughly 1,000 homes
Wednesday after destroying dozens a day earlier.
That fire grew by roughly six times in just a half day Tuesday, said
Joey Cason, the county manager. There were fires erupting “in the
backyard and people taking off in the front yard,” he said Wednesday.
So far no major injuries have been reported, Cason said.
The rural county is roughly midway between Georgia's coastal beaches and
the Okefenokee Swamp, dotted with livestock and fruit farms as well as
thick stands of planted pines grown for timber.
Crews worked to create fire breaks and stop the flames from reaching
populated areas. The biggest concern was gusting winds that could easily
spread embers.
Authorities said rain is desperately needed. The area with the worst
fires was in exceptional or extreme drought, the most dire levels,
according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.
“If you could start praying for that right now, we’d be grateful,” Cason
said.
Pine and hardwood forests in the region are helping charge the fires,
said Seth Hawkins, a spokesperson for the Georgia Forestry Commission,
and swampy lowlands with thick layers of leaves and woody debris are
“super flammable” when they dry out.
The commission's 30-day burn ban is for the southern part of the state.
FEMA announced the approval of grants for Georgia and Florida to battle
the blazes.
More residents told to evacuate
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp declared a state of emergency for more than half
of the state's counties.
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This photo provided by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources
shows firefighters responding to the Pineland Road Fire in southeast
Georgia on Wednesday, April 22, 2026. (Georgia Department of Natural
Resources via AP)
More people were told to evacuate from Brantley County on Wednesday
afternoon, on top of the 800 evacuations previously. Another large
fire that started in nearby Clinch County also prompted evacuations.
Mike Reardon and his wife packed family photos and their dog, Molly
Rose, along with new e-bikes before leaving their Brantley County
home.
The fire was about a mile away, and a shift in the wind would put
flames “in our backyard in a matter of minutes,” he said.
The couple just built the home two years ago.
“It’s more than our house. It’s land that my dad bought years ago,”
Liz Reardon said, fighting back tears. “It’s the most beautiful
place in the world to me.”
Florida sees its worst wildfire season in decades
In Florida, firefighters battled more than 130 wildfires that burned
39 square miles (101 square kilometers), mostly in the state’s
northern half.
“Florida has got one of the worst fire seasons in maybe the last 30
or 40 years, or it’s turning out to be that way,” state Commissioner
of Agriculture Wilton Simpson said. “We’ve been in drought for 18
months now all across the state.”
Smoke blows into Atlanta and Jacksonville
The National Weather Service said a dangerous combination of low
humidity and breezy winds would keep the fire danger elevated
Wednesday.
Smoke drifted to Atlanta, Savannah, Georgia, and Jacksonville,
Florida. The air quality in parts of south Georgia declined to the
unhealthy category, meaning all people there might feel health
effects.
Smoky conditions were expected to linger throughout the Atlanta
area, according to the Atlanta-Fulton County Emergency Management
Agency. The worst fires were more than 200 miles (322 kilometers)
southeast of the city.
Smoke from Georgia fires also spread into South Carolina, according
to its forestry commission.
The high fire risk was expected to continue each afternoon through
Friday due to the very dry conditions, the weather service said.
___
Martin reported from Atlanta. Associated Press writers Jeff Amy and
Kate Brumback in Atlanta, Mike Schneider in Orlando, Florida, John
Seewer in Toledo, Ohio, and Hallie Golden in Seattle contributed.
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