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Forest rangers say wildfires are down in Troup County but residents should still follow the burn ban.

During the Troup County Board of Commissioners work session on Tuesday morning, the Georgia Forestry Commission (GFC) presented its annual report on the Troup County unit.

GFG and Troup County have had an excellent working relationship over the years through cooperative efforts in controlling wildfires, providing forest management services to woodland owners, and providing tree care advice to urban residents. 

The report included information about the fiscal year which ended June 30, 2024.

Interim Chief Ranger David Waters said the Troup Forestry Unit is currently just him and another ranger, Austin Trusty, along with Forester Justin Mayfield, as they have a vacancy at the chief ranger position.

“For this fiscal year, [Troup] had a total number of 10 wildfires for a total acreage of 149.25 acres. So as opposed to last year, it is down considerably,” Waters said.

The number-one cause of wildfires continues to be careless debris burning, with arson ranking second. Wildfires are destructive and each year Troup continues to lose valuable woodland acres along with the threat to personal property loss.

Currently, the state only permits burning from Oct. 1 to April 30. Environmental Protection Division air quality rules also ban burning from May to September. 

The Statewide Burning Permit Law aids the Georgia Forestry Commission in reducing the number of false alarms, responding to wildfires and smoke management.

GFC issued 239 burn permits in Troup County over the fiscal year. Agriculture was issued 74 permits for a total of 518 acres. Silviculture (tree cultivation) got 122 permits for 685.3 acres and 43 permits were issued for land clearing for 158 acres. 

An important part of the services provided by GFC to landowners is the plowing of preventive firebreaks and providing technical assistance on prescribed burning. These services are available at a very reasonable cost.

Last year GFC provided firebreak plowing services to 27 landowners for 101 total hours. Three landowners also received plowing services from GFC for harrowing food plots.

Georgia Forestry Commission also assists with disaster relief efforts when called upon. 

“Anytime there’s a natural disaster, we’re one of the first people that GEMA calls. We basically have personnel that sit in the GEMA office when we have a natural disaster. So we respond to a multitude of things,” Waters said.