Effective immediately, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources’ Wildlife Resources Division (WRD) has placed a campfire restriction on a number of Wildlife Management Areas (WMA) in north and central Georgia.
Officials said in a press statement the ongoing drought is to blame.
“Due to the lingering and continued drought conditions, there is elevated risk of wildfire in north and central Georgia,” said John Bowers, Chief of WRD Game Management.
“Suspending the use of campfires on WMAs minimizes the risk of dangerous wildfires that threaten public safety and our forest resources. This action is consistent with the policy recently established for National Forest Lands by the USDA Forest Service and is supported by the Georgia Forestry Commission.”
Hunters and visitors to the affected WMAs must refrain from building, maintaining, attending or using a fire or campfire. Commercially available fuel stoves are excluded from restriction, according to Bowers.
The following WMAs are included in the restriction:
- Allatoona
- Arrowhead
- B.F. Grant
- Berry College
- Blanton Creek
- Broad River
- Buck Shoals
- Clybe
- Conasauga River
- Coosawattee
- Coosawattee – Carter’s Lake
- Crockford-Pigeon Mountain
- Dawson Forest
- Elbert County
- Fishing Creek
- Hart County
- J.L. Lester
- Joe Kurz
- Lower Broad River
- Lula Bridge
- McGraw Ford
- Oconee
- Otting
- Paulding Forest
- Pine Log
- Rich Mountain (state-owned tracts)
- Sheffield
- Soap Creek
- West Point
- Wilson Shoals
- Zahnd
The restriction is in place until further notice.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2016/10/463655/campfire-restrictions-extended-to-georgia-wildlife-management-areas-during-drought