Crews worked through the night Monday mopping up containment lines on both sides of the refuge and preparing fire breaks in front of the fire to prevent its burning onto private land bordering the 400,000-acre refuge. It grew by 76 percent over the weekend as winds pushed flames deeper into areas of the swamp parched by drought. So far, almost all of the burned acreage has been confined to national and state land.
"Even though we got some rain yesterday, and we're seeing a little bit more rain in central and northern Georgia, it's not enough to get us out of the danger zone, if you will", said Wendy Burnett, a spokeswoman for the Georgia Forestry Commission. "These are good conditions for a burn".
The fire has impacted South Georgia in other ways.
Officials warned that smoke could reach Jacksonville due to wind.
Tuesday's forecast called for temperatures 10 to 15 degrees hotter than Monday and wind gusts up to 18 miles per hour, increasing the likelihood there would be lots of fire activity.
Interlachen resident Daniel Scott Robinson Jr. was arrested after Friday's five-acre fire near his home was contained before any structures were damaged, the Sheriff's Office said.
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He predicted two areas of active flames will come converge into one fire during the day.
More than 440 firefighters are battling the blaze with eight helicopters and 45 fire engines.
They said that high winds caused the northwestern edge of the fire to spread toward Stephen C. Foster State Park.
While the fire did advance through Black Jack Island Sunday, it is expected to slow as it approaches wet areas north of the Island. In the refuge itself, Swamp Island Drive, Chesser Island Boardwalk and the Chesser Island Homestead are closed.
The Suwannee River Sill, the Pocket and all water trails, including boat tours, on the east side of the refuge have been suspended.
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