Seventy-nine people in St. George in the U.S. state of Georgia’s southernmost county have been evacuated after a wildfire in the Okefenokee Swamp began encroaching onto private property.

The unincorporated community has about 2,000 people. Saturday’s evacuation initially included a sparsely populated rural area of Charleton County. County Administrator Shawn Boatright couldn’t immediately say how many residents might be affected in that area.

Flames escape

The wildfire started by lightning April 6 and has since burned more than 150 square miles (389 square kilometers) on public lands. It has burned almost entirely within the Okefenokee refuge boundaries, and some public forestland in north Florida, for the past month, but escaped fire breaks around the refuge Friday and has burned an estimated 1,000 acres on private land.

Earlier Saturday the St. George emergency manager said the entire town was under a mandatory evacuation order, according to West Mims Public Information Officer Michael Davis.

Davis said the emergency manager later clarified that the evacuation was not mandatory and that only the people in the homes closest to the fire were asked to leave. The fire is now within 3 miles (5 kilometers) of the community, Davis said. 

Smoke advisory

The area, on the Georgia-Florida line, is also under a dense smoke advisory that is expected to effect visibility in the towns of St. George, Callahan, Ratliff and northern Duval County near the Jacksonville International airport.

A temporary shelter has been opened in the gymnasium at the Folkston Elementary School. Boatright said it would stay open indefinitely. And he encouraged residents to bring whatever personal items they might need for an extended shelter stay.
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