Wildfire Threat Closes State Park Inside Okefenokee Refuge

Wildfire Threat Closes State Park Inside Okefenokee Refuge

21 April 2017

USA – FOLKSTON, Ga. (AP) A Georgia state park inside the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge is being closed to visitors as a wildfire burning in the swamp poses a growing threat.

Leland Bass of the Georgia Forestry Commission said Stephen C. Foster State Park was closed to new visitors Friday, while campers already in the park were being allowed to stay until Saturday morning.

The park’s closure comes as a wildfire on public lands near the Georgia-Florida state line is expected to spread deeper into the refuge over the weekend. The fire has burned roughly 40 square miles (104 sq. kilometers) since it was sparked by lightning April 6.

Bass said the fire posed no immediate threat to the park or visitors, but authorities decided to close it as a safety precaution.

21. April 2017/by GFMCadmin