A volunteer firefighter in Hilliard, Florida died battling a wildfire there while more than 120 homes have been destroyed in Southeast Georgia and thousands more remain threatened. That’s the largest number of homes Georgia has ever lost to wildfires in the state’s history, Gov. Brian Kemp said Friday.
At about noon Saturday, the Brantley County Sheriff’s Office ordered more evacuations for Browntown Road from Hwy 82 to Hwy 32. “LEAVE NOW,” a sheriff’s office social media post said.
The U.S. Highway 82 wildfire has grown overnight to about 9,572 acres, a few thousand acres more than the previous day. The Georgia Forestry Commission said the fire was 10 percent contained.
That fire has destroyed about 87 homes and business by Saturday morning.
The Pineland Road Fire in Clinch County grew a few hundred acres to about 31,976 acres, the Georgia Forestry Commission said late Friday. More than 30 homes were destroyed there.
Destroyed homes in current wildfires most in Georgia’s history
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, who toured much of the scorched areas in the southern part of the state Friday, said the 120 homes lost to wildfires in Brantley and Clinch counties are the most in the state’s history.
“The two fires we’re fighting, among many others in Georgia, … the Pineland fire and the Highway 82 fire rank No. 1 and 2 in the country,” Kemp said during a news briefing Friday at the Waycross-Ware County Airport. “So we got the two most dangerous, biggest, problematic fires anywhere in the United States in the small area we’re having to fight. It’s a lot for us to deal with.”
WATCH: Gov. Brian Kemp gives update on Georgia wildfiresHow Brantley Co. fire started
Officials said the wildfire in Brantley County was started by a balloon from a kids’ birthday party that landed on a power line and created an arc, which caught the ground on fire.
Volunteer firefighter dies in Northeast Florida
The Hilliard Volunteer Fire Department in Nassau County lost one of their members who was battling a blaze there Thursday. James “Kevin” Crews was fighting the Old Dixie Highway Fire just south of Henry Smith Road in Hilliard when he began experiencing a medical emergency, a town news release stated Friday.
He was taken to UF Health on New Kings Road for further treatment and died at the hospital.
Hilliard Volunteer Firefighter James “Kevin” Crews
Northeast FloridaBaker County
Sargent Fire – 2,523 acres, 81% contained
Bradford County
Deden Fire – 180 acres, 50% contained
Columbia County
Gun Range Fire – 129 acres, 50% contained
Clay, Putnam counties
Railroad Fire – 4743 acres, 70% contained
Putnam County
Pace Court Fire – 343 acres, 85% contained
Mondex 3 Fire – 300 acres, 30% contained
CLICK HERE to view Florida Forestry Commission’s interactive wildfires map
Florida Wildfires Map, 4/25/2026
Southeast GeorgiaBrantley County
Highway 82 Fire – 9,572 acres, 10% contained
Mandatory Evacuations:
Browntown Road from Hwy 82 to Hwy 32
Browntown Road from Hwy 82 to Greenleaf Rd
GA-110 (Yellow Pine Rd) to Thrower Rd
From Thrower Rd to Mossy Oak
Highway 110 from Highway 32 to Lane Cemetery Road to include from Lisa Lane to the Satilla River.
Voluntary evacuation
U.S. 301 from the county line to Rowell Road to the west of Highway 110, north to Highway 32 and east of Highway 110 to the county line.
Evacuation shelters
The American Red Cross Shelter – Day and Night
100 Genoa Martin Drive, Brunswick, GA 31520
Southside Baptist Church – Day and Night
550 School St., Nahunta, GA 31553
Nahunta United Methodist Church – Day
107 E. Cleveland St., Nahunta, GA 31553
Glynn county state of emergency
Glynn County declared a local State of Emergency to ensure resources can be deployed without delay.
Officials there are urging residents living between Highway 82 and Highway 32 from Old Post Road to Highway 99, and those who live on and between Old Post Road and Buck Swamp Road south of Highway 82, to review emergency plans and gather essential items in case conditions worsen and they must evacuate.
Clinch County
Pineland Road Fire – 31,976 acres, 10% contained.
CLICK HERE to view Georgia Forestry Commission’s interactive wildfires map
Georgia Wildfire Map, 4/25/2026
A firefighter works the Brantley Highway 82 fire, Thursday, April 23, 2026, near Nahunta, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
A fire burns as the Brantley Highway 82 fire burns, Thursday, April 23, 2026, near Nahunta, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
A burned vehicle sits near a destroyed home as the Brantley Highway 82 fire burns, Thursday, April 23, 2026, near Nahunta, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
Fire crews and truck assemble at the Brantley County Airport as they work the Brantley highway 82 fire, Thursday, April 23, 2026, near Nahunta, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
Firefighters look on as a wildfire burns in Georgia.
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