Much of the state of Georgia, namely central and North Georgia, is under a high fire danger warning. The warning, issued by the National Weather Service, is due to Georgia’s current low humidity and wind gusts that make conditions ideal for fires to spread.
During high fire danger, fuels like dead leaves, pine needles and grass ignite readily and fires start easily from any cause, unattended brush and campfires are likely to escape, fires spread rapidly and short-distance spotting is common and fires may become serious and difficult to control unless they are hit hard and fast while small.
The Georgia Forestry Commission began suspending burn permits across the state Monday afternoon due to the weather conditions making fires more likely to spread.
“We strongly discourage burning of any kind, including small piles of yard debris, in central and north Georgia until conditions improve,” The GFC says in a Facebook post. “Step away from the matches. We repeat… step away from the matches!”
“We are in a period of high fire danger currently in our area due to [weather] conditions, which simply means fires can start easily from almost any cause and small fuels, such as grass and [pine] needles, will ignite readily,” Habersham County Emergency Services Director Chad Black says.
Black says that campfires and outdoor burns, even if they’re being closely monitored, are likely to “rapidly” get out of control. Now is not the time to burn debris, but if you need to burn something in the future, you should go through the burn permit line.
You can get your burn permit by calling 844-844-BURN (2876) or via the Georgia Burn Permits website. Georgia Burn Permits is not issuing permits statewide due to the current high fire risk.
“While this is a change for everyone, it will streamline the process and allow us to utilize personnel who previously had to answer the phone in other areas to help with the workload,” Black says.
