Wildfires -- fueled by drought -- destroy homes across parts of Georgia and Florida

+ Accessibility links Skip to main content Keyboard shortcuts for audio player Open Navigation Menu --> Newsletters NPR Shop Close Navigation Menu Home News Expand/collapse submenu for News National World Politics Business Health Science Climate Race Culture Expand/collapse submenu for Culture Books Movies Television Pop Culture Food Art & Design Performing Arts Life Kit Gaming Music Expand/collapse submenu for Music Tiny Desk New Music Friday All Songs Considered Music Features Live Sessions The Best Music of 2025 Podcasts & Shows Expand/collapse submenu for Podcasts & Shows Daily Morning Edition Weekend Edition Saturday Weekend Edition Sunday All Things Considered Up First Here & Now NPR Politics Podcast Featured Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me! Fresh Air Wild Card with Rachel Martin It's Been a Minute Planet Money Get NPR+ More Podcasts & Shows Search Newsletters NPR Shop Tiny Desk New Music Friday All Songs Considered Music Features Live Sessions The Best Music of 2025 About NPR Diversity Support Careers Press Ethics Wildfires — fueled by drought — destroy homes across parts of Georgia and Florida Drought conditions are fueling wildfires in South Georgia and Northern Florida that have destroyed homes and caused air quality issues across the region. National Wildfires — fueled by drought — destroy homes across parts of Georgia and Florida April 23, 20266:49 AM ET Heard on Morning Edition From By Emily Jones Wildfires -- fueled by drought -- destroy homes across parts of Georgia and Florida Listen &middot; 1:54 1:54 Transcript Toggle more options Download Embed Embed "> <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5795637/nx-s1-9741394" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript Drought conditions are fueling wildfires in South Georgia and Northern Florida that have destroyed homes and caused air quality issues across the region. Sponsor Message MICHEL MARTIN, HOST: Large wildfires are burning in the southeast. Georgia Governor Brian Kemp has declared a state of emergency in 91 counties as fires destroy homes and force evacuations in Georgia and Florida. Emily Jones of member station WABE has this report.

+ EMILY JONES, BYLINE: The fire in Brantley County, southeast Georgia, seemed mostly under control earlier this week until it rapidly spread Tuesday afternoon. County manager Joey Cason said at a press conference Wednesday that it's still moving, and residents should be ready to evacuate quickly. (SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING) JOEY CASON: This thing is a very dynamic situation that's changing in a matter of moments if the wind kicks in a certain way. JONES: Firefighters are working to contain this fire, as well as a much larger one farther south near the Georgia-Florida line. Locals are collecting water and food for the fire crews and supplies for people who've lost their homes. Evacuees took shelter at nearby churches. Pastor David Farrier of Nahunta Methodist Church says many people left in a hurry and arrived at his church in distress. DAVID FARRIER: It was an emergency evacuation and they had no idea what they might go back into. So there was this tremendous amount of anxiety. JONES: The southeastern U.S. doesn't often see the kind of widespread wildfires that are increasingly common in the West, but much of northern Florida and South Georgia is currently under extreme or exceptional drought, the most severe drought conditions. Georgia State forester Johnny Sabo says that's a driving force behind these fires. JOHNNY SABO: Under drought conditions, we have that much less water available either in the water table or in our swamps, ditches, drains, lakes. And so the wildfires can spread more rapidly. JONES: Officials have issued burn bands across the region and are urging locals to heed any warnings or evacuation orders. For NPR News, I'm Emily Jones in Savannah, Georgia. Copyright &copy; 2026 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. Accuracy and availability of NPR transcripts may vary. Transcript text may be revised to correct errors or match updates to audio. Audio on npr.org may be edited after its original broadcast or publication. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record. Facebook Flipboard Email Read & Listen Home News Culture Music Podcasts & Shows Connect Newsletters Facebook Instagram Press Public Editor Corrections Transcripts Contact & Help About NPR Overview Diversity NPR Network Accessibility Ethics Finances Get Involved Support Public Radio Sponsor NPR NPR Careers NPR Shop NPR Extra Terms of Use Privacy Your Privacy Choices Text Only Sponsor Message Sponsor Message Become an NPR sponsor (function () { var loadPageJs = function () { (window.webpackJsonp=window.webpackJsonp||[]).push([[22],{1166:function(e,n,c){e.exports=c(321)},321:function(e,n,c){"use strict";c.p=NPR.serverVars.webpackPublicPath,Promise.all([c.e(1),c.e(2),c.e(3),c.e(4),c.e(82)]).then(function(e){c(3),c(1139),c(116),c(94),c(52),c(493),c(239),c(101),c(103),c(1140),c(144),c(1141),c(238),c(48),c(1142)}.bind(null,c)).catch(c.oe)}},[[1166,0]]]); }; if (document.readyState === 'complete') { loadPageJs(); } else { window.addEventListener('load', function load() { window.removeEventListener('load', load, false); loadPageJs(); }); } })();