Fire at a glance (numbers)
- Incident Name:
- State:
- Lead Agency:
- Size (acres):
- Percent Contained:
- Estimate of Containment:
- Personnel:
- Structures Destroyed:
West Mims, Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge. Transfer of command from IMT 1 (Dueitt) to Florida IMT 2
(Mousel) and NIMO (Quesinberry) will occur today. Sixteen miles southeast of Fargo, GA. Timber and
southern rough. Minimal fire behavior with creeping and smoldering. Numerous structures threatened.
Evacuations, road, area and trail closures in effect. Precipitation occurred over the fire area yesterday.
May 22, 2017 at 7:17 AM
Fire Situation and Planned Actions:
The fire remained relatively inactive. There was one initial attack fire responded to by fire crews last night. The fire was from a lightning strike located approximately 5 miles north northwest of St. George. Crews lined and worked the fire, holding it at 9 acres. Mopup will continue on it today. Fire personnel will continue to improve firelines, extinguishing all heat sources in the southern part of the fire west of St. George. Crews and equipment will also continue to work today along the Swamps Edge Break west of Folkston, south of Waycross, and east of Homerville to protect those communities should the fire progress north. Contingency lines are completed on the east side of the Refuge near the Folkston area. Fire managers are coordinating with private landowners to facilitate access for salvage logging north and south of Highway 94 in the fire’s southeastern tip. A road-maintenance group is grading and stabilizing roads affected by fire-suppression activities wherever needed, but mainly in the southeast area of the fire on Road 8 and Road 37.
Focusing on initial attack until significant rain occurs is still a priority. Today’s operational priorities remain mop up, initial attack readiness, contingency planning, and line construction. Rains are forecasted to move into the area later today. Firefighters will be active through the day to take advantage of the wetter conditions that will aid mop up. The Southern States Incident Management Type 2 Team (aka Florida Gold Incident Management Team) and US Forest Service Atlanta National Incident Management Organization (NIMO) team will assume command of the West Mims Fire at 7:30pm.
Weather and Fire Behavior:
The weather on Monday will be unsettled, as a storm system approaches the incident. Scattered showers and thunderstorms are expected to develop once again, primarily driven by the sea breeze front. High temperatures are expected to top out in the 80s, with minimum RH in the lower 50s. Winds will turn to more SW but still average less than 10 mph. Drought conditions persist across the fire area. Live fuel moistures continue to be low making the live shrubs and trees available to burn.