DOUGLASVILLE, Ga. — A backyard fire quickly grew out of control on Tuesday afternoon, igniting four to six acres of woods near I-20 and Bright Star Road in Douglasville.
“A debris burn escaped. It moved through the woods very rapidly. These winds right now, we have gusts of 40 to 45 miles an hour. That fire moves extremely fast,” said Georgia Forestry Commission Chief Ranger Max Driver.
Channel 2′s Tom Regan was there as dozens of firefighters worked to contain the blaze, which sent plumes of smoke onto I-20 and caused major traffic backups. Fire crews brought in tractors to dig cut lines in the woods to keep the fire from spreading.
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“We’re throwing dirt on hot spots. The fire department is putting water on anything that is smoldering and smoking,” said Driver.
In recent days, a rash of wildfires have broken out across Georgia.
Last weekend, embers from a dumpster fire behind a business on Covington Highway in Decatur burned dozens of used cars in a parking lot next door. The fire spread to a storage facility, burning several storage units as well.
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“For the Georgia Forestry Commission, we responded to almost five hundred wildfires with almost seven thousand acres burned,” said Driver.
In Talbot County on Tuesday, the forestry commission arrested a man on arson charges. He’s accused of setting a fire that burned 108 acres, destroying two outbuildings and damaging two homes.
The state urges people not to burn outside during dry, windy conditions, to reduce the risk of wildfires.
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