Second Ga. fire burns more than 100,000 acres in Okefenokee

FOLKSTON, Ga. -- On Friday firefighters battled the second Georgia wildfire to burn more than 100,000 acres as gusty winds spread the fast-moving blaze further into northern Florida and toward the tiny city of Fargo west of the Okefenokee Swamp.

Officials said the wildfire, ignited by lightning striking the swamp May 5, had grown so rapidly that after six days it already rivaled a fire that has scorched 116,480 acres of southeast Georgia forest and swampland since April 16 -- the state's largest wildfire on record.

The most recent map of the younger fire from Thursday showed its acreage at 88,250. But fire department spokeswoman Mary Bell Lunsford said Friday the blaze had spread substantially since then.

"I guarantee you the acres are going to be over 100,000," Lunsford said from the firefighters' command post at the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge.

Fueled by dry, fast-burning swamp grasses and pushed by northeast winds forecast at up to 15 mph, the blaze was moving toward Fargo, a city of 380 about eight miles west of the swamp. Lunsford said the weather Friday was predicted to mirror conditions that prompted the blaze to spread Thursday.

The haze from the fires had traveled more than 300 miles to worsen air quality in the Miami area.

About 570 homes in northern Columbia County, Fla., were evacuated overnight as the wildfire that started in Georgia and crossed the Florida border moved further south.

"We had a reason to suspect we could be in deep trouble overnight," said Harvey Campbell, a spokesman for Columbia County emergency managers. "But the fire laid down and did not aggressively move to the south and west."

Heavy smoke blanketed the area and visibility along Interstate 10 was about a quarter of mile.

Firefighters were aggressively fighting the blaze to try to keep it away from both highways and to protect homes. So far, no homes have been lost and there have been no injuries.

A decision is expected to be made by 5 p.m. Friday on whether residents in the tiny north Florida town of Taylor will be allowed to return home.

The number of active fires has dropped in Florida to 223 on Friday from 236 on Thursday, with about 140 square miles burnt.

Also, Florida Muslims are offering special prayers for rains at mosques on their religion's day of rest, said Altaf Ali, South Florida executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

"It is only done on an occasion when there is a drought. The situation has to be extreme," Ali said. "It is better than not doing anything."

In Georgia, residents of about 300 homes were under a mandatory evacuation order as firefighters tried to keep the 116,480-acre fire from spreading across the swamp's eastern boundary.

Fire officials said Friday the number of active fires in Florida had dropped to 223 from 236 on Thursday. Three large fires -- including the vast blaze from the Okefenokee -- continued to burn.

The other large fires in Florida are a 18,000 acre fire in Bradford County that is 35 percent contained and a 15,913 acre fire in Collier County that is 65 percent contained.

Norvell said the Florida Highway Patrol and the Florida Department of Transportation are carefully watching the smoke conditions on Interstate 10 in Baker and Columbia counties.

Georgia and Florida have been battling wildfires for weeks, with nearly 300 square miles charred as severe drought conditions have left both states tinder-dry.

The wildfires failed to get substantial rain from subtropical storm Andrea, which arrived off the coasts of Georgia and Florida three weeks ahead of the official start of the Atlantic hurricane season.

But officials held some hope that storms causing flooding along the Missouri River would bring dousing rains to the Southeast over the weekend.

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Associated Press writer Ron Word in Jacksonville, Fla., contributed to this report.

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