Georgia Forestry rangers are still working to put out a large brush fire spreading on Dug Gap Mountain, forestry officials said.
The fire, which broke out near Chattanooga Road and Mill Creek Road and was spotted by an interstate passerby a little after midnight, Whitfield County police said. The blaze now covers nearly 10 acres of land, said Justin Ridley, a dispatcher with the Georgia Forestry district office in Rome, Ga.
Rangers are struggling to control the blaze because the area where it’s burning is steep rocky terrain and the ground is extremely dry, said Justin Ridley, a dispatcher with the Georgia Forestry district office in Rome, Ga.
“We are having access problems,” he said. “Bulldozers can’t reach it. It’s an erratic fire, and it’s hard to know what the fire is going to do next because of shifting winds.”
Earlier in the day, the Georgia Aviation Authority send a helicopter to dump water on the spreading fire, but many rangers are expected to have to work into the night.
Officials said they hope to have the fire contained by late this evening, but several days of clean up will still be needed to mop up what the fire leaves behind.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation, official said.