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Map showing the location of the Big Ridge Fire on March 30
The Big Ridge Fire started on March 22nd, 2025 in the Sarah's Creek area of the Warwoman Wildlife Management Area in Clayton, Georgia.
The Big Ridge Fire is burning in conditions of abnormally dry to medium drought conditions with dryer than normal fuels. Steep and rocky terrain are dictating indirect tactics. The fire is burning in a remote area and is not an immediate threat to the public. It is impacting the Bartram Trail, Sarah’s Creek Campground, and the Warwoman Wildlife Management Area.
Incident updates will be posted daily. The cause of the fire is currently under investigation.
| Current as of | Sun, 03/30/2025 - 20:46 |
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| Incident Time Zone | America/New_York |
| Incident Type | Wildfire |
| Cause | Under Investigation |
| Date of Origin | |
| Location | 8 Miles from Clayton GA |
| Incident Commander | Paul Varnedoe, Jason Klawinsky (t) |
| Coordinates |
34° 57' 10'' Latitude
-83° 17' 39
'' Longitude
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| Total Personnel: | 259 |
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| Size | 2,745 Acres |
| Percent of Perimeter Contained | 8% |
| Estimated Containment Date | 04/30/2025 |
| Fuels Involved | Hardwood Litter Hardwood Litter Fuel types across the fire are primarily timber litter. Hurricane damaged fuels are minimal in the fire |
| Significant Events | Moderate Creeping Smoldering
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| Planned Actions |
Continue construction and improvement of direct and indirect fire control lines in all directions. Triage of structures adjacent to the eastern control lines will also continue. Working with Rabun County officials, insure an orderly evacuation plan is in place in Sky Valley community, if needed. Structure group with a Georgia Forestry Commission strike team to evaluate structure protection along Warwoman Road. |
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| Projected Incident Activity |
Anticipated moisture with reduced fire behavior expected. Expect smoke and fog to linger in the valleys until ~1100 hours before the inversion begins to break. Gusty and erratic winds may be possible near thunderstorm cells. |
| Weather Concerns | Light winds from the south-southeast continued to bring moisture over the incident area Saturday night into Sunday. Scattered light showers developed during the early morning and continued off and on through the day. As of late afternoon, total rainfall of 0.10-0.15 had fallen across the incident area, with scattered showers continuing. Temperatures ranged from 58 to 63, while relative humidity was between 90 and 100%, resulting in areas of fog. Occasional showers and fog will continue into tonight. A thunderstorm can't be ruled out during the evening. Low temperatures from 55-60 are expected, while relative humidity will remain between 90 and 100%. An area of showers and thunderstorms is expected to move in to the incident area on Monday morning in advance of a cold front. Isolated strong-to-severe storms could produce frequent cloud-to-ground lightning and strong, possibly damaging wind gusts. Additional showers, and possibly a thunderstorm will remain possible until the cold front passes through late in the afternoon. Highs will be from 63 to 69. Afternoon RH is expected to range from 50-60%. Winds will be light from the south to begin the day, steadily increasing and becoming SW during the afternoon, then becoming gusty from the NW Sunday evening. Gusts of 20-30 mph are expected behind the front, with some gusts as high as 35 mph possible on the ridgetops. Tuesday will be mostly sunny, warmer, and much drier, with low afternoon humidity expected. |
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