Fire officials say a recreational fire that was started Friday night was likely the cause of a brush fire that damaged two homes in northwest Hall County Saturday afternoon.
Hall County Fire Captain Zachary Brackett said the 10-acre fire was rising up a ridge on Waterscape Ridge just off of Point Twenty Two near Lake Lanier when crews arrived at around 12:48 p.m. He said the fire was being driven by high winds that have been blowing across Northeast Georgia throughout the day, and he cautioned county residents to be careful about burning for the time being.
"We have not been issuing burn permits all day today because of a high fire danger," Brackett said. "Obviously, the burn permits do not govern (recreational fires), but it is a good barometer of if they should burn or not."
Brackett said the fire was initially threatening four homes and ultimately caused two of the homes almost $20,000 of exterior damage each. At last report, fire crews are still on the scene working to completely extinguish the blaze and no injuries have been reported. Hall County crews were also helped by the Georgia Forestry Commission.
