As a wildfire burns in northeast Rabun County, public safety officials are urging no outdoor burning until further notice.
White County Public Safety spokesman Bryce Barrett said a Red Flag Warning will be in effect until at least this weekend.
The warning indicates relatively low humidity and high winds that create conditions for fires to spread rapidly.
“We ask that any residents, especially in White County, but all of North Georgia, just to refrain from burning. We have already seen examples of outdoor burning getting out of hand this morning here in White County,” Barrett said.
Several wildfires are already active in Rabun County and Pickens, SC.
Barrett said he was on the scene of a second fire that occurred in White County on Tuesday.
“The one this morning was actually a controlled burn that had jumped the break. It ended up burning about six acres,” Barrett said. “We called in Georgia Forestry to assist in creating that firebreak. Our crews then focused on protecting residential structures that were exposed to the fire, and I do have to applaud some of our off-duty personnel that came in to provide additional manpower in that, but we were able to contain that.”
Barrett added that he was not sure if the second fire was a controlled burn, but they were fighting it alongside the Cleveland Fire Department.
