A photo provided by the Office of Gov. Brian Kemp shows smoke produced from a wildfire in Brantley County, Georgia, on Friday, April 24, 2026. | Office of Gov. Brian Kemp via AP
Published on April 27, 2026 at 12:16 pm
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The Highway 82 Fire that sparked in Brantley County continues to grow and now exceeds 22,600 acres, officials announced Monday.
Highway 82 in Brantley County is about 35 miles north of the state line with Florida, and the fire is mainly affecting the communities of Atkinson and Waynesville.
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Emergency crews in Southeast Georgia have now been working for one week to contain the fires that have forced people out of their homes and closed major roads and highways.
The fire remains 6% contained. Officials pointed out that the entire state of Georgia is in a drought, with Brantley County being in an exceptional drought.
The drought conditions, along with hot and dry weather, are making firefighting efforts challenging.
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Officials have created a Facebook page to share updates on the ongoing firefight: www.facebook.com/Hwy82fire.
Emergency crews have set up a staging area at the local airport as they work around the clock to suppress the fires that have caused critical damage to homes and communities in Brantley County.
As of Saturday, the fire had destroyed at least 87 homes, including some belonging to first responders who continue to work despite their personal loss.
“It’s very important to understand, No. 1, we’ve got some heartbroken folks working this fire. They’ve been here almost a week. No. 2, you need to know we care,” Brantley County Manager Joey Cason said.
Updated figures on homes damaged or destroyed by the blaze were not immediately available Sunday afternoon, said Susie Heisey, spokeswoman with the Southern Area Incident Management Team.
“Our firefighters worked so hard and had so much success in protecting structures and private homes, but there also were losses,” Heisey said.
Due to the ongoing fire, investigators can’t be sent in yet to assess damages, she added.
More crews were expected to arrive Monday to help battle it, Cason said.
“There’s a ton of assets that are being poured into this fire to, hopefully, get it under control or get it out,” he said. “This whole situation is heartbreaking.”
Brantley County remains under a mandatory curfew from 8:30 p.m. to 6:30 a.m., and a burn ban is in place for all counties in south Georgia.
Shifting winds
Firefighters had battled valiantly to keep the fire west of Browntown Road, but wind shifts caused them to lose some containment, and the fire is now east of Browntown Road.
Firefighters will be continuing to improve and widen containment lines north of Highway 32, along Browntown Road and Highway 110. Structure assessments north on Highway 110 will continue.
Along Browntown Road, firefighters are strengthening and widening containment lines and engines crews are extinguishing hot spots.
“The fire basically doubled last night in size,” Cason said Sunday in a Facebook post. “It is a dynamic fire event that will be impacted by the wind.”
Wind gusts in the 15-25 mph range are expected to stick around through Wednesday, according to The Weather Authority. No rain is expected through Wednesday, but there should be good to excellent humidity recovery at night, officials said.
An isolated thunderstorm Sunday night moved across the entire fire area, giving the firefighters a much-needed break from the extreme fire behavior.
It will be cooler with highs in the 70s and lows in the 50s. Winds on Monday will be from the northeast and out of the east tonight and Tuesday.
The wind shifting to the northeast will push on the western side of the fire along Highway 110. This push will test some of the established lines and push the fire to the west on the northwest corner of the fire north of Fin Dig.
The Highway 82 fire was started by a foil balloon hitting live power lines. That created an electrical arc that ignited combustible material on the ground.
Evacuations
Cason and other county officials urge community members to take action and follow evacuation orders if they receive a warning.
“We had folks that did not evacuate, and they almost got caught by that fire,” Cason added. “It’s going to be another potential bad fire day as the winds pick up later in the day.”
All homes, roads and properties within the following boundaries in Brantley County are under mandatory evacuation:
- North: Highway 32
- South: Highway 82
- West: Highway 110
- East: Post Road
For information about evacuations and road closures in Brantley County, call the Sheriff’s Office at 912-674-5878 or 912-674-0195.
Glynn County (glynncounty.org/wildfires) evacuations include the following:
Mandatory evacuation
- Old Post Road to Highway 32
- Highway 32 to Thalman Park Lane
- Thalman Park Lane to Bladen Road
- Bladen Road to Old Post Road
Voluntary evacuation / prepare to leave
- Alpine Road
- Gilley Road
- Boones Branch Road
- Sallie Cline Road
- Mauney Street
- Chelsea Circle
- Post Road north of Highway 82
- Old Post Road north of Highway 32
Residents in voluntary evacuation areas should prepare essential items and be ready to leave if conditions worsen.
