News 12, First at Five, October 8, 2008

RICHMOND CTY, Ga.---Over the past three months, the Georgia Forestry Commission has helped fight 25 wildfires in Richmond County. They are now moving just a few miles away, but that small distance could mean slower response times when the next fire happens.

Ranger John Pearson has worked at the Richmond County Unit for 13 years. But come November 1st, he'll be moving shop.

"Everybody has to tighten their belt and we have to tighten ours also," says Pearson.

And tighten they will. Going from the location on Tobacco Road. To the middle of Spirit Creek Educational Forest. To a smaller building, adding more workers inside.

"It's comparable. It needs a little work but it can be made tolerable for us and our equipment," says Pearson.

The shed will store one of the two tractors the Richmond County branch has. And while this facility may need some money invested into it -- they tell News 12 it's still going to be cheaper than maintaining the facility on Tobacco Road. "There will be some work to be done down there, a building to be build probably but it can work and it will work," says Steve Abbott, Chief Ranger for Columbia and Richmond Counties.

One of the main concerns is the new response time. The new location will be deep in the forest, about a five minute drive back out to Tobacco Road. "There could be a little bit of traffic delay getting out of Spirit Creek. It's a couple of stop signs extra here and there," says Abbott.

In the fire business, every second counts. "The critical thing for forest fires is getting on them quick. The quicker you get to it the better you are," says Pearson.

And during an extensive drought where dry leaves and brush equal fuel, a wildfire could really do some damage. "Low humidity, high winds and drought. You can get a wildfire that can devastate a track of land in a heart beat," says Abbott.

But John says no matter which location he's driving out of -- he's going to be working hard. "We're here to do a job like we've always done," says Pearson.

The outdoor burn ban was lifted in Georgia at the first of the month. There have been over 800 burn permits given out in Richmond and Columbia Counties over the past seven days. That's 800 fires that could get out of control.