Chattahoochee fire: Nearly 40% contained

WEDNESDAY 10:30 A.M. UPDATE FROM U.S. FOREST SERVICE SERVICE (USFS):

“Acres: 3,274

Containment: 39%

Start Date: 03/22/2025

Location: Clayton, GA

Fuels: Timber

Personnel: 246

Resources: 5 crews | 11 engines | 4 dozers | 1 helicopter

Lakemont, Ga. (April 2, 2025) — Additional rain is expected today on the Big Ridge Fire, with the possibility of 0.15 to 0.25 inches. Crews made good progress on direct line construction Tuesday. The change in acres is due to more accurate mapping, not fire growth. Structure protection specialists from the Georgia Forestry Commission will continue visiting communities around the Big Ridge Fire along Warwoman Creek.

Fire Activity: Minimal fire spread is expected today, with the only activity expected to be smoldering. The areas of primary focus today will be the line from Wilson Knob to Forest Service Road 155, and then the east side of the fire from Rabun Bald to Sarah’s Creek. Firefighters will mop up all areas where direct lines have been completed. This activity consists of putting out all remaining pockets of heat, such as stump holes, logs, and deep layers of duff.

The U.S. Forest Service Law Enforcement and Investigations is seeking information regarding the circumstances around the cause of the Big Ridge Fire. If anyone was in the area on March 22, 2025, and observed suspicious activity please call the Georgia Forestry Commission Arson Hotline 1-800-428-7337.

Weather: Today cooler temperatures and higher humidity will return with expected high temperature of 61 degrees, 80% minimum humidity, and winds south-southeast 10 mph. There will be occasional gusts to 22 mph. Tomorrow will start a warming and drying trend with the next chance of rain coming Sunday.

Evacuations: None.

Closures: A closure order is in place for the vicinity of the Big Ridge Fire. For details visit https://inciweb.wildfire.gov/incident-closures/gachf-big-ridge-fire

More Information:

Air Quality: https://www.airnow.gov/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChattOconeeNF

Email: 2025.BigRidge@firenet.gov

Fire Information: 770-230-1020

Big Ridge Fire Recorded Information Line: 706-982-4729

Inciweb: https://inciweb.wildfire.gov/incident-information/gachf-big-ridge-fire “

About the Author

Ken Stanford is Online News Editor for GLORY 97.5, a position he has held since August 2022.

Ken was born in Moultrie, Georgia, and says he knew from the time he was 5 or 6 he wanted to be a “radio announcer.” That dream was realized when he was hired by Moultrie radio station WMTM in 1960 at the age of 15 as a weekend disc jockey. A 1963 graduate of Moultrie (now Colquitt County) High School, he has spent his whole career in Georgia working for stations in Atlanta, Marietta, and Gainesville – most recently as News Director for 40 years at WDUN in Gainesville. He is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force Reserves.

Ken retired in 2011 but came out of retirement last year to help GLORY, on a part-time basis, beef-up its online news presence.

He is the recipient of many Associated Press awards and is a former judge of state and national Associated Press broadcast news contests. In 2005, he was presented with the Georgia Associated Press Broadcasters Association’s President’s Award for Excellence in Journalism and in 2019 was inducted into the Georgia Radio Hall of Fame.

He lives in Gainesville with his wife of 52 years, the former Sandra McKnight of Clio, Alabama, and they have one child, a daughter, Lisa, who lives in Cumming with her family.