By 5 pm Saturday Alone, 73 New Fires Reported In Georgia - Mostly Small (So Far)

[hatrack]

A dangerous, dry and windy Saturday sparked a dramatic increase in small wildfires across Georgia. Meanwhile, firefighters from across the nation working in North Georgia continued to hold the line on major blazes there, in the face of high winds blowing smoldering fall leaves in record dry conditions.

State crews got 73 calls Saturday by 5 p.m. to fight new fires, said Wendy Burnett, spokeswoman for the Georgia Forestry Commission. “That’s a lot of fires,” said Burnett, “and we’re not done yet.” Also, that’s not a North Georgia figure, it’s for fires scattered throughout the state, she said. “We have been seeing an uptick in activity throughout the state, but not this much.”

The fires were small, some less than an acre, and about half were extinguished quickly. However, it’s a possible signal of danger.

In North Georgia, where larger, more established fires have drawn hundreds if not thousands of firefighters, crews were concerned that the stepped-up winds would blow fuel across the fire lines they’ve worked hard to clear. By midday, that hadn’t happened at two of the biggest fires, Rock Mountain in Rabun County and Rough Ridge in Fannin County.

EDIT

http://www.wsbradio.com/news/news/local/winds-add-threat-georgia-wildfires/ntBTw/

[lonestarnot]

1. Who is starting all the fires?