As wildfires burned thousands of acres in South Georgia last month, emergency crews from across the state stepped in to help. Among them, officials from Chatham Emergency Management Agency (CEMA) and the Chatham County Fire Department (CCFD). The Chatham County response team spent more than a week on the ground coordinating resources, supporting communications, and helping Brantley County officials manage both the immediate response and the longer-term recovery efforts.

Randall Mathews, CEMA Deputy Director, who responded alongside CEMA Radio Technician II Matthew Pimentel, said the two most urgent needs initially were brush trucks — specialized off-road vehicles used to fight fires in hard-to-reach areas — and water tenders or tankers, which transport thousands of gallons of water to fire scenes where hydrants are unavailable. 

“I worked with all the municipal fire chiefs to determine what resources they had available that could support the efforts. After working with all the municipalities, I worked with the folks in Brantley County to see exactly what they need and then put those logistics in place to get those resources in place to support the crews on the ground,” Mathews said.

One of the tankers that responded was CCFD water tender 314, along with CCFD engine 308. Manning the two vehicles were CCFD Captains Jaden Jackson and Jonathan Campbell, along with firefighters Mackenzie Jackson, James Loflin, Malik Norman, and Jonathan Huber.

Throughout their deployment, the CCFD crew often worked over 12 hours daily on fire suppression and containment in Brantley County’s most affected areas. The water tender provided logistical support, and the fire engine contributed operational and structural protection.

Chatham County firefighters also worked alongside other local crews from Savannah Fire and Garden City Fire Rescue to mitigate hot spots throughout the area to ensure that no new fires occurred.

“Our crews have returned home after a week-long deployment supporting our neighbors in Brantley County. I’m incredibly proud of the dedication and professionalism they demonstrated while working under challenging wildfire conditions. Their efforts reflect the commitment of the Chatham County Fire Department to serve not only our own community, but to stand ready to assist others when called. We’re grateful for their safe return and for the strong partnerships that make this kind of mutual aid possible,” said CCFD Chief James Vickers.

While firefighters battled the blaze, communication was also a top priority. Since Brantley County uses a different radio system to communicate with their first responders, Pimentel and others had to work to patch a system that would allow all the response crews to talk to one another.

Ensuring that evacuation and other emergency notices were getting to residents was also a challenge due to internet and cable outages, Mathews said.

Wireless emergency alerts — the same system used for Amber Alerts are tied to each county, so responding teams couldn’t directly send alerts to Brantley County residents. Instead, they worked with local officials to identify impacted areas and evacuation zones. The data was then reviewed locally and sent to state officials for approval and distribution.

As more resources from the state and federal levels arrived, Mathews transitioned to assist with both short and long-term recovery. Teams built a framework for what resources residents needed the most and what organizations and community partners were available to provide.

“We left that framework in place so that the Brantley County Emergency Management Agency can pick it up and continue from there,” Mathews said.

According to the Georgia Forestry Commission, the fire has burned more than 22,000 acres and is 85% contained as of May 7.  While conditions have improved, fire crews are still battling the blaze and working to strengthen containment lines.

Like Chief Vickers, Mathews praised the support provided to Brantley County.

“We had multiple emergency managers from surrounding counties who were able to come down and offer support for those critical functions like evacuation notices, sheltering and long-term recovery efforts,” he said. “That couldn’t have been done without the partnership between all of the municipalities and surrounding areas.”

 

Drone footage of the Brantley County wildfire.