Dade County wildfires now contained
UPDATE (Nov. 3):
All wildfires in Dade County are now contained, according to Dade County EMA.
There were three total wildfires. Those were on Murphy Hollow Road, Back Valley Road and Egypt Hollow.
UPDATE (Nov. 2): The newest fire that officials are contending with is in Murphy’s Hollow, a narrow valley in far northern Dade County.
Just to the west of the I-24/59 split in Wildwood are where the Egypt and Murphy’s Hollow Fires are occurring.
The Egypt Hollow Fire is along the Tennessee-Georgia border, and officials say it is contained.
The Murphy’s Hollow Fire just to the south of that, officials say is a work in progress.
Alex Case, the director of Dade County EMA, said, “It’s still happening, and we’re saying please don’t (burn) because it don’t take much right now, and fothe next ten plus days we don’t see any relief… The possible containment area that the forestry is working on now could be up to 475 acres. There’s a nice large road up through there and they’re plowing down a section now with dozers, to tie back into Murphy’s Hollow and contain all of the small fires there.”
Dade County has blocked off Murphy’s Hollow Road from Hales Gap Road to near the state line.
Case says so far no structures have been threatened, and News 12 has not seen any damage so far due to these fires.
He asks that although residents will likely see and smell these fires for the days and weeks to come, be sure to call 9-1-1 only in the case of an emergency.
Case said, “If you feel that your house, your residence is endangered, and are concerned the fire is nearing you, call us.”
He says the cause of the fires is unclear at this time, but he says with the ongoing drought, despite the lack of an official burn ban, residents should treat the current situation as if there is one in
Case said, “We encourage folks not to burn nothing at all. It’s just not the time here, and what has happened we feel is (the fire was probably) set from someone or some accident, we don’t know. Only the Good Lord knows.”
DADE COUNTY, Ga. (WDEF) — Dade County officials confirmed Thursday morning that there is a new wildfire burning in that area.
(Courtesy of Dade County EMA)
This is at Murphy Hollow Road on the side of Lawson Mountain, near North Point Hunting Club.
Drivers near the I-59 and I-24 split will ese more smoke in the area.
Authorities have shut down Murphy Hollow Road to thru traffic.
This is in addition to two other wildfires that were already burning in Dade County as of Wednesday.
As of 4 p.m. on November 1, Dade County EMA said there were fires burning on Back Valley Road and Egypt Hollow Road. Officials said the Georgia Forestry had both fires controlled.
Dade County is part of the red flag warning and burning is currently prohibited due to the ability for fires to rapidly spread.
