At least eight wildfires continued to tear through parts of southern Georgia and northern Florida on Thursday amid severe drought conditions in the region.

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As a result, parts of the Southeast are contending with hazardous air quality resulting from the smoke, with the worst conditions reported near Savannah, Georgia, and Columbia, South Carolina.

A major wildfire in Brantley County, Georgia, was approximately 15% contained as of Thursday morning after having burnt roughly 5,000 acres. The fire destroyed 54 structures and had threatened about 1,000 homes a day earlier, officials said.

Nearly 94% of the Southeast region is experiencing severe to exceptional drought, with the most extreme conditions centered in southern Georgia and northern Florida, where most of the wildfires are.

On Thursday, the U.S. Drought Monitor website released a map highlighting the current drought conditions in Florida. The Florida Panhandle is in a D4 Zone, the highest zone, shown in dark red, which historically means rapid groundwater decline. Other portions of the map show that a portion of Florida is in a D3 zone, meaning historically, fire risk is extreme, toxic algae blooms may appear, groundwater levels decline, nesting bird populations increase, and more.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp on Wednesday declared a state of emergency for 91 counties, which amounts to more than half the state.

“With much of Georgia remaining in extreme drought conditions, wildfires have already surpassed the state’s five-year average and continue to spread,” Kemp said.

“The emergency declaration allows the Georgia Department of Defense to mobilize the state’s National Guard troops for response and recovery efforts,” the governor’s office said in the Wednesday release.

State officials have issued a sweeping burn ban — the first in the Georgia Forestry Commission’s history — to prohibit yard debris burning, agricultural burning and prescribed fires for at least 30 days.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has approved Fire Management Assistance Grant declarations for counties affected in Georgia.

In a Facebook video posted Wednesday, Georgia Forestry Commission director Johnny Sabo said the state is facing “extreme drought conditions” and that the wildfires have already surpassed the state’s five-year average.

“Right now, Georgia Forestry Commission teams are fully mobilized, working alongside local, state, and federal partners to protect lives, property, and Georgia’s forests. This is an all-hands-on-deck effort,” Sabo said. “Air resources, heavy equipment, and firefighters are actively engaged in suppression and protection efforts.”

On Wednesday alone, the Georgia Forestry Commission reported that it had responded to 34 new wildfires that burned approximately 75 acres. That total does not include the Pineland Road Fire, which is estimated to have burned more than 29,600 acres and is 10% contained, or another fire in Brantley County, now estimated at 4,438 acres with 15% containment.

Three key ingredients typically raise the risk of wildfires: vegetation, an ignition source and hot, dry, windy weather.

Studies have shown that rising temperatures due to climate change are fueling longer wildfire seasons, and making blazes both more frequent and more destructive.

NAHUNTA, Ga. — 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.

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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 of rain since the beginning of September — almost 15 inches 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 33 square miles, and at least four other smaller fires have been reported in the state.

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.

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, 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 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.

Wildfires burning across the south-eastern US intensified on Wednesday across parts of south-east Georgia, where 50 homes were destroyed, and across north-east Florida, forcing evacuations and school closures in some communities.

The Georgia forestry commission issued its first mandatory burn ban in the state’s history, effective across 91 counties in the lower half of the state, due to worsening drought conditions and rising wildfire activity.

“My office and I are working closely with the Georgia Forestry Commission to respond to the increasing threat of wildfires in South Georgia,” Governor Brian Kemp wrote on X. ”If you are in a directly affected area, please adhere to guidance from your local officials to keep you and your family safe.”

Smoke from the fires drifted to Atlanta and Savannah, Georgia, as well as Jacksonville, Florida, while air quality in parts of south Georgia declined to the unhealthy category.

Smoky conditions were expected to linger in the Atlanta area throughout the day, according to the Atlanta-Fulton county emergency management agency, as the worst blazes burned more than 200 miles from the city.

Some of the biggest blazes are reported to be along Georgia’s coast and around Jacksonville, Florida. They have been exacerbated by a long drought, low humidity and strong winds in the area.

Georgia’s two biggest wildfires together have burned more than 31 sq miles, and at least four other smaller fires have been reported.

Drought in the contiguous US has reached record levels for this time of year. More than 61% of the lower 48 states are in moderate to exceptional drought – including 97% of the south-east and two-thirds of the west – according to the US Drought Monitor. It’s the highest level of drought for this time of year since the drought monitor began in 2000.

Florida, the area where the worst fires are burning, is in exceptional or extreme drought, according to the monitor. Firefighters are battling 131 wildfires that had burned 34 sq miles, mostly in the state’s northern half.

Firefighting equipment was being staged across the state so resources are closer to the fires, the Florida commissioner of agriculture, Wilton Simpson, said.

“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,” Simpson said. “We’ve been in drought for 18 months now all across the state.”

The fast-moving Brantley county fire in south-east Georgia is threatening more homes on Wednesday after destroying 47 a day earlier, according to the county manager, Joey Cason, who said the fire grew roughly six times in size over a half day. Nearly two dozen fire agencies called in to help fight the blaze, Cason said at a news conference. At least 800 evacuations have taken place in the county and five shelters have opened, as the fire threatens 300 more homes, the Federal Emergency Management Agency said.

The Brantley county sheriff, Len Davis, warned residents to be ready to evacuate, noting that the winds could shift rapidly and unexpectedly.

Another large fire that started in Clinch county had also forced evacuations, which were underway in multiple communities, the Georgia forestry association said.

“This is a serious and evolving situation,” said Tim Lowrimore, president & CEO of the association.