For constituents concerned for the fire on Wassaw this is an update. But first, please don’t let pictures fool you. The natural process in the South is for fire to burn through stands of pine.
The SE and our pines evolved with fire. Wassaw is overwhelmingly a pine island. The Southeastern US has the highest density of lightning strikes which start most fires like this one.
I have spoken to Wassaw Island leadership and they do not see severe damage to the stand.
Indeed, it will likely be beneficial to wildlife by burning undergrowth, and creating more opportunity for sunlight to reach the ground.
Remember, there is much hurricane debris on the ground getting burned. After a 2024 fire, biologists on the island noticed a pronounced increase in wildlife in the area burned to include a huge increase in diamondback rattlesnakes which are very important to the native island habitat.
Now for the update. The fire is still actively burning on the south end of the island. It is backing towards south beach. At this time there is no threat to the private sector of the island.
Refuge personnel are on the fire monitoring and using a tractor to keep paths ( fire breaks ) in check and helicopters to cool it when it starts to get active. It is at 750 acs as of Friday afternoon.
From and written by : Representative Jesse petrea.
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