Georgia wildfire: evacuations ordered though many stay put

(AP) — The wildfire burning for weeks in southeast Georgia's Okefenokee Swamp had gotten so close that Mason Pair could see its orange glow through the trees as large flakes of ash rained down around his home in St. George.

Facing an evacuation order, Pair and his wife packed up their valuables and had a ladder standing by to put sprinklers on their roof as the flames approached over the weekend.

[...] like many in this small community of about 2,000 near the Georgia-Florida state line, they remained home Monday rather than leave everything to the mercy of the flames now burning less than 3 miles (5 kilometers) from the center of town.

Emergency officials in south Georgia's Charlton County ordered a mandatory evacuation Sunday for all of St. George and for nearby Moniac, small rural communities on the edge of the Okefenokee Swamp.

The blaze posed little threat to people or homes until Saturday, when strong winds pushed the flames across the fire breaks plowed along the refuge perimeter.

Helicopters dumping water and tanker planes spraying fire retardant managed to keep the fire from St. George homes over the weekend.