Winds from the outer bands of passing Hurricane Ian are believed to be the cause of a fire in Nahunta and another near Hortense.
A brush fire Wednesday, September 28 turned into a structure fire along Michelizzi Street in Nahunta. A mobile home suffered damage to the siding and skirting.
Nahunta, Hoboken and Waynesville volunteer fire units responded to the scene as well as the Nahunta Police Department.
EMA Director Michelle Lee said the probable cause was from a downed power line caused by the wind.
“We’ve got three weather stations that recorded the wind,” said Lee. “The wind was measured at 25 miles per hour in Nahunta with three-tenths of an inch of rain, 30 miles per hour in Waynesville with one-tenth of an inch of rain, and 36 miles per hour in Hoboken with no rain recorded.
“We only received calls of four downed trees in the county. There could have been more, but that’s the only ones we were called about.”
Fire and law enforcement units responded as the calls came in to keep the roadways clear.
Units responded to a fire in the Hortense area on U.S. 301 Thursday, September 29 working approximately four hours to contain it. Georgia Forestry was called in to cut fire breaks.
“It was really windy Thursday,” said Brantley County Sheriff Len Davis. “We closed the northbound lane for about an hour because of the fire vehicles being near the edge of the road. The fire was just off the highway.”
Lee said there were seven apparatus vehicles on scene with 10-12 firefighters.
“Hortense (VFD) was called back because the wind kept causing flare ups,” said Lee. “I believe the fire was caused by a downed line.”
The EMA director was glad to see the community being sparred with just strong winds from Hurricane Ian.
“We were very fortunate,” she said. “I’m glad to see it (Ian) turned and missed us, but my heart goes out to those who suffered in Florida. We need to keep them in our prayers.”
