FLOYD COUNTY, Ga. — Firefighters say several brush fires are close to being under control near Rome in Floyd County.
The flames broke out Tuesday afternoon along Highway 27 and Cave Springs Road.
Smoke from the flames could be seen for miles. As Channel 2’s Jason Durden flew overhead in NewsChopper 2 he could count at least four different areas where firefighters were working to douse the flames.
Several homes had to be evacuated in the area and firefighters say at least two homes were damaged from the flames.
According to Georgia Forestry, 55 acres were burned. As of Wednesday afternoon, the fire was considered “contained,” Georgia Forestry officials said.
They said they still had five to ten workers still on scene.
There are no advisories or road closures in place.
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“We thought, boy we better get out of here, see how close it is to our house,” one homeowner told Channel 2’s Tom Regan.
As of 10 p.m., forestry officials confirmed about 95 percent of the fires had been contained.
Channel 2's Darryn Moore saw contained flames Wednesday morning.
One firefighter was sent to a nearby hospital Tuesday.
"We did have one firefighter get heat exhaustion. That's understandable," said Denise Croker with the Georgia Forestry Commission.
As the sun set, firefighters worked feverishly to put out the remaining hot spots that lit up the sky.
"So far we have determined there are between five to seven fires that were started along this roadway," said Rome Fire Battalion Chief Gene Proctor.
The simultaneous fires were so massive officials told Channel 2’s Nefertiti Jaquez it took 50 firefighters nearly seven hours to battle the flames.
The fires damaged two homes and destroyed a man's barn which housed expensive cars and trucks he had spent years restoring.
The victim didn't want to talk on camera because he was too devastated but friend and neighbor John Reeves did.
"It's always tough, and I feel for him. When we went up the road we witnessed it, cars were smoldering," Reeves said.
Reeves told Jaquez while his home was spared he was seriously worried when he saw the flames inch closer and closer.
"It was concern. We saw the fire coming toward our house," Reeves said.
The flames, which officials say topped trees higher than 30 feet, forced two dozen families to evacuate until firefighters managed to get the flames under control.
Although officials say most of the flames are contained they're still worried it could start spreading again.
"I think we sit tight and wait to hear from them," one neighbor told Jaquez.