BRANTLEY COUNTY, Ga. – A wildfire burned 1,500 acres in Brantley County and remained zero % contained Tuesday evening. While the hazard grew, neighbors stepped up to help those who lost everything.
Twin Rivers Baptist Church opened its doorways, serving spaghetti, garlic bread, and dessert to residents displaced by the hearth. Pastor Rusty Bryan mentioned the response was swift.
“We got on the phone tree for the whole church, and we just sent out a message, ‘hey, we need help,’ and boom, people are here,” Bryan mentioned.
RELATED: Schools closed, mandatory evacuations issued amid 1,500-acre wildfire in Brantley County
Bryan knew firsthand how devastating the hearth had been. Several of his college students lost their houses, together with boys from his baseball crew who spent Tuesday evening at his home.
“It’s just devastating, it’s been a hard day,” he mentioned.
The thought for the group meal got here from Claudia Waldron, a church member and culinary instructor at Brantley County High School. She mentioned the choice to act got here shortly as reviews of evacuations poured in.
“As all the messages started rolling in that everything was happening. They were evacuating Atkinson Elementary and Waynesville Primary. I just felt like we needed to do something,” Waldron mentioned. “That’s what our community does. We give back, we help each other.”
Waldron mentioned most of the college students she teaches had been instantly affected by the hearth.
“I’m hoping and praying that our students are okay and that some of my kids are okay and they know that we love them and we’re here for them,” she mentioned.
Four evacuation shelters had been out there for Brantley County residents Tuesday evening, together with the Brantley County Library. The church mentioned it deliberate to take issues someday at a time and proceed discovering methods to help in the approaching days.
Out of an abundance of warning, Brantley County Schools closed Wednesday.
Brantley County officers will maintain a information convention on Wednesday at midday to give updates on the hearth’s standing. We will stream the occasion dwell.
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