WARE COUNTY, Ga. — A large wildfire in Ware County is 40% contained, according to the Georgia Forestry Commission.
The fire, which started Tuesday night, is near Swamp Perimeter Road near Waycross, according to the National Weather Service.
As of Wednesday morning at 11:33 a.m., the fire grew to about 400 acres in size.
The Ware County Fire and Rescue Department says that this was a controlled fire that got out of hand when the wind shifted.
It began to get out of control around 7:38 p.m. on Tuesday night. When fire crews arrived on the scene they called in surrounding county firefighters to help.
Crews say there was no damage to personal property.
The Georgia Forestry Commission says air operations were called in to help put out the fire.
“A prescribed burn had escaped it’s original containment break and we dispatched plow units to the scene who began installing fire breaks," said spokesperson, Patricia Stockett.
Stockett wants to note that escaped prescribed burns are rare.
“There’s an extensive planning process that has multiple steps in it that is done before a prescribe burn is conducted so once we go through this planning stage, we look for ideal weather," said Stockett.
In fact, Stockett says prescribed fires are beneficial to the environment.
“Prescribed fire is a valuable tool for hazardous fuel reduction, for timber site prep, as well as ecological environmental management," said Stockett.
GALLERY:
Fire near Waycross, Ga.
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