SAVANNAH, April 29, 2026 — Two massive wildfires are burning through south Georgia, consuming more than 55,000 acres, destroying over 120 homes, and forcing hundreds of families from their properties in what Gov. Brian Kemp has described as the most destructive wildfires in Georgia’s recorded history. A statewide drought emergency, a burn ban covering nearly the entire state, and a federal disaster declaration now frame what firefighters and state officials are calling a prolonged, open-ended fight. How the Fires Started — and Why They Spread Both Georgia fires ignited as the state’s worst drought in two decades rendered vast pine forests and swampy lowlands tinder