The West Mims fire has burned in the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge for a month, but the blaze isn’t threatening much outside the swamp right now.
It has grown to more than 110,000 acres and is less than 10 percent contained, but it has not jumped the swamp boundary. Actually, the fire can bring some ecological benefits to the swamp, which depends on periodic fires to maintain a balance.
A lightning strike about a month ago started the fire, which was being battled by almost 500 firefighters this week.
Susan Granbery, a spokesperson for the Georgia Forestry Commission, said the priority right now was keeping firefighters safe and making sure the fire does not become a threat to communities that ring the swamp.
The tiny city of Fargo is the closest to the blaze, but it is under no immediate threat other than lower air quality from the smoke.
Overall, the smoke may be the biggest threat to anyone. Smoke conditions change with the wind, and smoke can reduce visibility on several major roads the carry traffic to Florida. As of midweek, only a few roads within the perimeter of the swamp were closed, but Granbery said road closings can happen quickly if the smoke shifts.
While firefighters try to keep the flames inside the refuge, there are lines drawn that can prompt more drastic action. Granbery said if the fire reaches certain points, residents may be advised to prepare to evacuate.
Longtime residents of the communities around the park have been through this before.
The West Mims fire is burning in the same general area as the Bugaboo Scrub fire of a decade ago. That fire, the largest on record in Georgia, developed at the same time of year in roughly the same place.
Clinch County EMA director Will Joyce said that residents are familiar with wildfires, but he said there is little institutional knowledge in his office from the previous fire. “This is my first fire, so it is a learning experience for me,” he said.
The NWR is surrounded by a fire break for just this purpose. The open area is to keep fires that start in the swamp in place. A fire in the swamp will burn excess vegetation and keep the swamp from becoming so clogged with plant growth that it ceases to be a swamp.
There are fire major entrances to the swamp, and three of them are closed by the fire. The Suwanee Sill area, where the Suwanee River flows from the swamp, is closed, along with entrances at Stephen C. Foster State Park and Suwanee Canal Recreation Center near Folkston.
Kingfisher landing, a boat ramp between Waycross and Folkston, is open for day use only, and the Okefenokee Park, a commercial venture near Waycross, is open.
Granbery said it likely will take more than the efforts from firefighters to douse the flames. “We are just hoping for a good, soaking rain,” he said.
