Georgia’s Warm, Dry Weather Could Bring Busy Wildfire Season

With forecasters predicting an early spring in southeast Georgia, forestry officials are gearing up for what could be an early start to a fire season they fear could be a repeat of 2011. Three large fires torched nearly 340,000 acres in and near the Okefenokee Swamp last year. Now, forecasters are predicting average rainfall for February, said Jason Gillis, interim district manager at the Georgia Forestry Commission’s Satilla District office. But that won’t be enough to cut into the drought that has left the woods and swamps dry, he said.