South Fulton County

This is possibly the largest illegal tire dump in Georgia history

SOUTH FULTON COUNTY, Ga. — Officials have found what they say is possibly the largest illegal tire dump in the entire state of Georgia.

The suspects dumped the tires in a remote wooded area in south Fulton County.

Channel 2's Audrey Washington has been digging into this story since 2017.

Officials with the Department of Natural Resources tell her they have never seen anything like it.

“It’s by far the largest tire dumping case that I’ve ever worked on,” Game warden Daniel Gray with the Department of Natural Resources said.

To make matters worse, DNR officials told Washington that some of the tires sat on top of a pipeline.

"It's a huge environmental hazard with that many, and you always run into the issue if someone set them on fire," Gray said.

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Channel 2 Action News has been following the story since Washington received a tip about the tires back in November.   

The DNR set up a surveillance operation with cameras installed in the trees and ground.

Those cameras, according to DNR officials, caught two guys tossing the tires over a few weeks.

"The camera is very similar to a cell phone. It captures the picture and then sends you the picture in about 15 to 20 seconds," Gray  said.

Washington spoke with neighbors about why this area in south Fulton was targeted.

"A lot of woods. This whole street is nothing but trees and there's no street lights. So you can be dumping anything," Odessis Fitts told Channel 2. 

The dump is now cleaned up, but officials believe the suspects could be dumping in other places.

The people responsible are still on the loose.

Anyone who recognizes the men in the video or has information is asked to call the Department of Natural Resources hotline at 1-800-241-4113.