Fire on Loyd Mountain started on Rolling Acres
By Becky Landress Sentinel Writer

Friday at 2:04 p.m.a call was dispatched to Towns County Dispatch center describing a fire out of control in Rolling Acres subdivision off of Hwy.76 in Hiawassee. Within minutes, before firefighters could even arrive, the fire had spread on up the mountain, known as Loyd Mountain.

There were heavy winds that carried the fire and smoke quickly up the mountain. A large number of homes were threatened, all over the mountain. Just as the fire started to enclose a home, firefighters would dig a trench around the home with two dozers they were using. Their hard work paid off as no homes were lost in the blaze.

Acommand center was set up immediately at Turpin's Wrecker Service off of Shake Rag/ BugScuffle Road. From there, Fire Chief Mitch Floyd and Assistant Chief Harold Copeland, could have a bird's eye view of the fire. It also provided a place for the exhausted firefighters to come and re-energize and hydrate themselves. 19 firefighters assisted in the containment. Clay County provided aid and trucks to Towns County to assist in the containment.

Due to the fast approach of the firefighters, no homes were lost and there were no injuries. The fire was contained to 100 acres, where it could have easily spread to many more. The overnight rains throughout Friday night and into early Saturday helped extinguish some of the hot spots that were still burning on the mountain. Several firefighters stayed until early Saturday morning monitoring the fire, to make sure it was fully extinguished.

Towns County Red Cross in conjunction with McDonald's of Hiawassee, Bank of Hiawassee and more, provided the EMS with much needed water and food. Special thanks goes to McDonald's from the Red Cross team for easily and without discussion, offering food for the firefighters.