Georgia wildfires: New details revealed in possible causes of blazes

IVAN PEREIRA, MATT FOSTER and VICTORIA ARANCIOSat, April 25, 2026 at 5:55 PM UTC

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As two major wildfires continue to ravage southern Georgia, state officials and investigators said Friday the blazes may have been sparked by two unnatural events, one of which involved a wayward balloon.

The Highway 82 Brantley County fire has burned through 9,572 acres as of Saturday morning and was 10% contained, according to the Georgia Forestry Commission (GFC). In nearby Clinch County, the Pineland Road Fire has burned through 31,976 acres and was 10% contained, according to the GFC.

Sean Rayford/Getty Images - PHOTO: A member of law enforcement redirects traffic due heavy smoke from the Brantley Highway 82 Fire, April 24, 2026 in Atkinson, Georgia.

Gov. Brian Kemp revealed Friday that investigators may have found the causes of the fires.

The Pinelands Road Fire, which started over the weekend on mostly private forest land, started after someone was welding their gate, according to the governor.

Georgia wildfires: 2 major blazes grow to more than 34,000 acres

"The sparks fell on the ground, it started a fire and they couldn't put it out," he said.

The Highway 82 fire started on Monday and was caused by a balloon landing on a power line, according to the evidence collected by investigators so far Kemp said.

"It created an [electric] arc and then caught the ground on fire," he said.

Sean Rayford/Getty Images - PHOTO: A burned out vehicle consumed by the Brantley Highway 82 wildfire, April 23, 2026 in Atkinson, Georgia.

Kemp said investigators and firefighters are still hard at work to contain the blazes and determine more details about its origins.

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"We got the two most dangerous, biggest, problematic fires anywhere in the United States within, you know, really just a very small area that we're having to fight," he said.

As of Friday afternoon, no deaths had been reported. Kemp said a combined 122 homes were destroyed in both fires and over 900 homes are endangered by the blazes.

Fire safety officials warned Georgia residents to be cautious and ready for evacuations as the wildfires gripping the state rage on, with changing weather conditions affecting containment.

Sean Rayford/Getty Images - PHOTO: The Brantley Highway 82 Fire, April 23, 2026 in Atkinson, Georgia.

"If you saw anything yesterday, that containment can move anywhere from 15% to 0% with the wind," Brantley County Manager Jason Cason said Friday morning.

The Brantley County Sheriff's office said Friday that "59 fire departments from across the state [are] working specifically on structure protection efforts as well as 20 dozers and 8 type 6 engines."

Sean Rayford/Getty Images - PHOTO: A utility pole burns in a vehicle lot scarred by the Brantley Highway 82 Fire, April 23, 2026 in Atkinson, Georgia.

"Air resources include small and large helicopters and large air tankers," the sheriff's office said.

A county curfew was put in place on Friday from 8:30 p.m. to 6:30 a.m. and will continue "until this event is under control," the sheriff's office said.

Sean Rayford/Getty Images - PHOTO: Smokes rises from the Brantley Highway 82 Fire, April 23, 2026 in Atkinson, Georgia.

Heavy smoke from the fires was drifting more than 400 miles, to as far north as Atlanta and prompted air quality warnings for several towns.

-ABC News' Bill Hutchinson, Jessica Gorman and Kyle Reiman contributed to this report.

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