BRANTLEY COUNTY, Ga. – With no end in sight to the ongoing Brantley County wildfire that has scorched nearly 8,000 acres, neighbors in the Hawks Landing community took matters into their own hands Thursday afternoon, spraying down their rooftops and yards to guard against falling ash from the nearby fire.
Residents Ronnie Douglas and Mark Vinluan were among those seen watering their homes with garden hoses.
Douglas said the ash accumulation drove him to action.
“When you start seeing ashes laying everywhere, like this morning when I got up, it was like snow,” Douglas said. “That’s how bad it was. So I said, well, it’s probably time to go back out and water everything. I did it two days ago. I also watered everything. But I just want to be on the safe side.”
Vinluan said wind direction is the biggest factor in how worried residents need to be.
“It depends on the wind direction, and right now it’s going southwest, so if it turns north, then you have to worry about it more,” Vinluan said. “It’s just precaution.”
Neither Douglas nor Vinluan is currently under an evacuation order, but both said they are ready to leave if that changes.
The community’s biggest hope is rain. A forecast had mentioned possible rain Saturday, but Vinluan said that window disappeared.
“The forecast is saying Saturday, but it disappears,” Vinluan said. “So now we’re just inventing rain and ready yard with it.”
Douglas said faith is carrying him through.
“That’s the main thing, is pray,” Douglas said. “That’s all that I can tell you. That’s what we need.”
Despite the stress, Douglas said the community has rallied around one another.
“You don’t realize until it gets here. It stares you in the face, but there’s a big loving throughout the county here and plus the surrounding areas,” he said.