A wildfire burningon Georgia's Wassaw Island has grown to more than 800 acres as crews continue monitoring the blaze, while a staterepresentative saysthere is currently no threat to the island's private property.
The Main Trail wildfire was listed at 820 acres and 45% contained in the latestUSA TODAY fire data, with an estimated $30,000 in costs to date.
The database lists the fire's discovery date as Aug. 13 at 8 p.m. and identifies the fire as being in Chatham County.
Here's what else to know.
Is the fire still active?
State Rep. Jesse Petrea, R-Savannah, provided an update Sunday after speaking with Wassaw Island leadership.
Petrea said the fire remains actively burning on the southern end of the island and is backing toward South Beach. He said there is currently no threat
to the private sector of the island.
Refuge personnel are monitoring the fire, according to Petrea. A tractor is being used to maintain paths that serve as firebreaks, while helicopters are being used to cool the fire when it becomes more active.
The latest federal fire report available from the National Interagency Fire Centerlisted the Main Trail fire at 741 acres and 35% contained.
Wassaw Island is protected wildlife habitat
Wassaw National Wildlife Refuge covers 10,053 acres and includes beaches, dunes, live oak and slash pine woodlands, and salt marshes, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
The refuge was established in 1969 and is managed to protect native wildlife and habitat.
The island also has about 20 miles of dirt roads and 7 miles of beach that provide opportunities for hiking, biking, and wildlife observation.
The latest USA TODAY fire data puts the blaze at 820 acres and 45% contained, while the most recent federal report lists different figures from an earlier update.
Editor's note: Fire acreage and containment percentages can change as incident teams update their reports. The USA TODAY fire database and National Interagency Fire Center had different figures in their latest available updates, so both are identified above rather than treating one number as definitive.
Vanessa Johns is the Trending Topics Reporter for the Deep South Connect Team Georgia, covering food and entertainment. Email her at Vcountryman@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Crews battle growing Wassaw Island wildfire as blaze grows
