NAHUNTA, Ga. (AP) — One of two large wildfires in southeastern Georgia continues to grow and now exceeds 31 square miles (80 square kilometers), officials reported Sunday.
The Highway 82 Fire has been burning since April 20 and as of Saturday had destroyed at least 87 homes. On Sunday morning, officials said it was only 7% contained.
Highway 82 in Brantley County is about 35 miles (56.3 kilometers) north of the state line with Florida.
“The fire basically doubled last night in size,” Brantley County Manager Joey Cason said Sunday in a Facebook post. “It is a dynamic fire event that will be impacted by the wind.”
Wind gusts of about 15 mph (24.1 kph) were expected Sunday.
Cason also said evacuation notices could be issued Sunday and that residents should heed them.
“We had folks that did not evacuate and they almost got caught by that fire,” he added. “It's going to be another potential bad fire day as the winds pick up later in the day.”
A second fire about 70 miles (110 kilometers) to the southwest in Clinch and Echols counties, near the Florida state line, had burned more than 46 square miles (121 square kilometers), destroyed at least 35 homes and only was about 10% contained as of Saturday. That blaze was started by sparks from a welding operation.
The Highway 82 fire was started by a foil balloon hitting live power lines. That created an electrical arc that ignited combustible material on the ground.
More crews were expected to arrive Sunday and Monday to help battle it, Cason said.
“There’s a ton of assets that are being poured into this fire to, hopefully, get it under control or get it out,” he said. “This whole situation is heartbreaking.”
Updated figures on homes damaged or destroyed by the blaze were not immediately available Sunday afternoon, said Susie Heisey, spokeswoman with the Southern Area Incident Management Team.
“Our firefighters worked so hard and had so much success in protecting structures and private homes, but there also were losses,” Heisey said.
Due to the ongoing fire, investigators can’t be sent in yet to assess damages, she added.
Firefighters have been battling more than 150 other wildfires in Georgia and Florida that have sent smoky haze into places far from the flames, triggering air quality warnings for some cities.
An unusually large number of wildfires are burning this spring across the Southeast. Scientists say the threat of fire has been amplified by a combination of extreme drought, gusty winds, climate change and dead trees still littering some forests after being toppled by Hurricane Helene in 2024.
In northern Florida, Nassau County Sheriff’s Office volunteer firefighter James “Kevin” Crews died Thursday evening after he suffered an unspecified medical emergency while suppressing a brush fire. No fire deaths or injuries have been reported in Georgia.
The photo provided by the Office of Gov. Brian Kemp shows smoke produced by a wildfire in Brantley County, Ga., Friday, April 24, 2026. (Office of Gov. Brian Kemp via AP)
The photo provided by the Office of Gov. Brian Kemp shows smoke produced from a wildfire in Brantley County, Ga., Friday, April 24, 2026. (Office of Gov. Brian Kemp via AP)
TORRANCE, Calif. (AP) — The California man arrested in the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner is a highly educated tutor and amateur video game developer opposed to the policies of President Donald Trump.
A photo of Cole Tomas Allen of Torrance, California, posted to social media last year shows him in a cap and gown after graduating with a master’s degree in computer science from California State University, Dominguez Hills. His face appears to match the appearance of the alleged attacker taken into custody at the dinner Saturday night in Washington that was attended by Trump and top members of his administration.
In writings sent to family members minutes before the attack, the 31-year-old described himself as “Friendly Federal Assassin” and railed against recent actions taken by the U.S. government under Trump, though he did not name the Republican president directly, according to a law enforcement official who was not authorized to publicly discuss the investigation and spoke on condition of anonymity.
A search of state and federal court databases showed no indication Allen had ever previously been charged with a crime.
Voter registration records from California lists Allen's home address as his parent's house on a tree-lined street in one of the most historic neighborhoods in Torrance, a city within the Los Angeles metro area. Public records show he is the oldest of four adult siblings, with two younger sisters and a brother.
Two cars were parked in the driveway Sunday morning. A blue scooter that a neighbor said Allen rode was on the front lawn. No one answered the door when an Associated Press reporter knocked.
Allen contributed $25 to a Democratic Party political action committee in support of Kamala Harris for president in 2024, according to federal campaign finance records. A yard sign displayed at the family home supported a local candidate for judge who was endorsed by the Los Angeles County Democratic Party.
Law enforcement officials told the AP that Cole Allen legally bought a .38-caliber semiautomatic pistol in October 2023 and a 12-gauge shotgun last year.
Allen earned a bachelor’s degree in 2017 in mechanical engineering from the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, according to his profile on the social networking site LinkedIn. He also listed his involvement there in a campus group that battled with Nerf guns and a Christian student fellowship.
The suspect's father, Thomas Allen, is listed as an elder at Grace United Reformed Church Torrance. The webpage for the congregation describes it as a “Bible-believing church” following the “infallible Word of God.” Security guards posted at the sanctuary during worship services on Sunday escorted parishioners to the door and kept reporters at bay.
Bin Tang, a computer science professor at California State University, Dominguez Hills, told the AP that Allen took a few of his classes before graduating last year.
“He was a very good student indeed, always sitting in the first row of my class, paying attention, and frequently emailing me with coursework questions. Soft-spoken, very polite, a good fellow. I am very shocked to see the news,” Tang wrote in an email.
A local ABC station in Los Angeles included an interview with Allen during his senior year of college as part of a story about new technologies to help people as they age. He had developed a prototype for a new type of emergency brake for wheelchairs.
Allen's online resume says he worked for the last six years at C2 Education, a company that offers admissions counseling and test preparation services to aspiring college students. A 2024 post on the company’s Facebook page listed Allen as the company’s teacher of the month. The company did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment Saturday night.
Allen also posted that he had developed a video game for the Steam platform based on molecular chemistry. A post under Allen’s name said he was working to develop a new “top-down shooter” combat game set in outer space.
Biesecker and Tucker reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Michael Balsamo and Michael Kunzelman in Washington contributed to this report.
FBI agents work in a neighbor's yard, Sunday, April 26, 2026, near an address in Torrance, Calif., connected to Cole Tomas Allen, who was identified as the shooting suspect at the White House Correspondents Dinner the night before. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
FBI agents walk door to door to try to speak with neighbors, Sunday, April 26, 2026, near an address in Torrance, Calif., connected to Cole Tomas Allen, who was identified as the shooting suspect at the White House Correspondents Dinner the night before. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
FBI agents work, Sunday, April 26, 2026, near an address in Torrance, Calif., connected to Cole Tomas Allen, who was identified as the shooting suspect at the White House Correspondents Dinner the night before. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
A reporter and cameraman stand outside the door of a house connected to Cole Tomas Allen, who has been identified as a suspect in a shooting at the White House Correspondents Dinner early Sunday, April 26, 2026, in Torrance, Calif. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
FBI agents walk door to door to try to speak with neighbors as members of the media follow them, Sunday, April 26, 2026, near an address in Torrance, Calif., connected to Cole Tomas Allen, who was identified as the shooting suspect at the White House Correspondents Dinner the night before. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Members of law enforcement respond during the White House Correspondents Dinner, Saturday, April 25, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Tom Brenner)
A law enforcement officer sets up police tape near an address connected to Cole Tomas Allen, the shooting suspect at the White House Correspondents Dinner on Saturday, April 25, 2026, in Torrance, Calif. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
