Georgia Baptist Disaster Relief has shifted from supporting firefighters to helping homeowners recover from the Highway 82 Fire. At Southside Baptist Church, volunteers take applications and connect residents to recovery resources.

As conditions improved in Brantley County, Georgia, with the Highway 82 wildfire now 90% contained, some residents who evacuated for days are beginning to return home — finding a stark mix of devastation and relief.

Gov. Brian Kemp, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Georgia Department of Revenue announced Wednesday that certain federal and state tax return and payment deadlines have been extended for taxpayers affected by the Georgia Highway 82 and Pineland Road wildfires in Clinch, Echols and Brantley counties.

Brantley County leaders say they’re shifting into recovery from the Highway 82 Fire, launching a one-stop website, waiving RV-related fees, and routing donations through Brantley County Family Connection.

Volunteer firefighters in Waynesville are pumping water from a private pond to fill tankers battling the Highway 82 Fire. One volunteer says it’s personal: “This is my home.”

The Federal Emergency Management Agency said Wednesday it has begun using Immediate Needs Funding after its Disaster Relief Fund fell below the $3 billion threshold, limiting the agency to support only lifesaving and life-sustaining disaster work while Congress remains without a full appropriation.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency said that rumors that it stopped aid and pulled firefighters from the Georgia wildfires are false.

Hundreds of Brantley County residents are still waiting for the all-clear to return home as wildfires continue to grow past 7,500 acres, destroying 87 homes in the process.

Sherry Dean was home alone when the horrific wildfire started to close in on her Westley Road property.