Hall County Fire Services have spent much of Sunday battling brush fires around the county, including one that drew increased attention on U.S. Highway 129 near Clermont.
Fire Captain Zachary Brackett said the half-acre fire was reported near the northbound lanes near the intersection of Frank Gailey Road at about 2:40 p.m.and took about 30 minutes to extinguish. He said the additional units that were sent to work the fire may have caused some people in the area to believe a traffic accident had occurred.
"We had several apparatus on scene which apparently made it appear that there was an accident scene there, but there was not," Brackett said. "With the wind today and how dry it is, we really needed to get a good head start on that before it got out of control."
Those dry and windy conditions have placed most of Northeast Georgia under a red flag warning for Sunday from the National Weather Service. Brackett said several other smaller fires have appeared around the county and he urges people to stay cautious during these conditions.
"We just encourage everyone to refrain from any type of burning if at all possible," Brackett said. "Obviously any kind of land-clearing or burning leaves is prohibited right now in Hall County, but even recreational fires are discouraged for now."
