Rabun County Grapples With Encroaching Wildfires
As smoke hangs in the air, Fire Station One in Clayton, Georgia, is bustling with the county’s emergency workers.
“This is pretty unprecedented in all of our careers. Fires this size,” said Justin Upchurch, assistant fire chief in Rabun County.
Wildfires are ravaging North Georgia. Now it has led the U.S. Forest Service to call for evacuations in parts of the county.
Upchurch’s staff has been working 12-16 hour shifts to protect homes and structures, as the Forest Service and its team from around the country try to contain fires.
“We had people assisting for 24 hours a day,” Upchurch said. “We’re just operating as support for the forest service right now.”
Nearby fires in Rabun County engulfed more than 4,000 acres by Sunday. As one fire was contained, another one grew.
‘Sad for our area’
Gwen Leavens left her home on her own, even though it wasn’t under an evacuation order yet.
“We can actually now see the fires coming down the ridge,” Leavens said.
She dropped by the fire station to let firefighters know they could use her home if necessary. She isn’t letting the fire get to her.
“It’s sad for our area, it really is. But I tend to put things in perspective. My children are safe, my animals are safe,” Leavens said. “A house is just a thing.”
As of Sunday, no homes had been damaged by the flames, the Forest Service said.
In God’s Hands
Down the road is a designated shelter, Liberty Baptist Church.
No evacuees have shown up yet. Emergency workers say most are staying with friends and family in other parts of the county.
Still, church members Bear Red and Charlie Knight are preparing supplies. Red points out kits they’re putting together for firefighters.
“They’re needing stuff like hand wipes, chap stick, cough drops, and things like these,” Red said.
The two are trying not to think about whether the fire could inch closer, Knight said.
“Yes I’m concerned. But the way I look at it is when the good lord’s ready to let the fire go out it will go out,” said Knight.
Officials are investigating arson as a cause of at least one fire here. Dozens have raged in Georgia, North Carolina and Tennessee as a regional drought continues.
For the latest information on the fires around Rabun County, visit the U.S. Forest Service’s website.
9(MDAxODM0MDY4MDEyMTY4NDA3MzI3YjkzMw004))
Top Stories
