An ongoing wildfire has been spreading on Lookout Mountain in Northwest Georgia, two sources have confirmed to the Times Free Press.
The fire began Monday morning and has been spreading since, according to a Georgia Forestry Commission ranger and a spokesperson with Dade County Emergency Services.
The fire is on the side of a bluff with a creek at the bottom, and firefighters have been unable to reach its location, according to the spokesperson. Emergency personnel have been battling the fire by dumping water on it from helicopters while firefighters stay at the top of the bluff keeping the fire from reaching residential areas, according to the spokesperson.
The fire grew from approximately 10 to 20 acres Wednesday afternoon, Supervisory U.S. Park Ranger John McCutcheon told a Lookout Mountain community news source that works collaboratively with the local town councils. The Dade County Emergency Services spokesperson, the Lookout Mountain Fire Department and the Georgia Forestry Commission ranger were unable to confirm the size of the fire.
The National Parks Service brought in more firefighters once it reached NPS land, according to the ranger.
More firefighters will be brought in tomorrow morning at 8 a.m. to try to control the fire, according to the Dade County spokesman.
Portions of several counties in the tri-state area, including almost all of Dade County, are experiencing an extreme drought, putting the area at risk for fires.
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