COWETA COUNTY, Ga. — A steady rain fell on a Georgia Forestry Commission headquarters in Coweta County on Tuesday.
Should you think it’s enough to dampen the wildfire danger, Ranger Eric Evans said to think again.
“We are in such an extreme drought statewide that just a little bit of rain is not gonna do it,” Evans told Channel 2’s Berndt Petersen.
Despite the precipitation, the big blazes burning in the far south end of the state are still growing.
In the North Georgia mountains, the U.S. Forest Service is still crisscrossing 26 counties.
A chopper is temporarily based in Habersham County and is equipped with a Bambi Bucket—a water bag that can carry and dump 260 gallons.
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Back in Coweta, they keep the bulldozer ready to roll to dig up firebreaks.
State Forest Rangers said that Tuesday’s rain can wet down the first couple of inches of leaves and pine needles, but the 8 or 10 inches under it remains bone dry.
So don’t get a false sense of security.
“It will calm things down for a couple of days. Hopefully, we can get a little bit of rest. But once this rain stops, the top layer of fuel — pine needles and leaves — everything on top will have time to dry out. Then it’s off to the races again,” Evans said.
The Georgia Forestry Ranger Station in Coweta County usually has a crew of four with three bulldozers and covers three counties.
Two of those rangers and big tractors have been sent to fight the South Georgia fires.
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