The Honey Prairie continues to burn deep down into the dry peat on the west side of the refuge. Aerial observers report that the 2.5 mile line of fire has made very little advancement. There is no visible flame but it is still smoking. Crews continue to patrol Swamps Edge Break. Twelve personnel are currently assigned to the fire that has burned 309,200 acres since April 28, 2011.
The water table needs to come up high enough to extinguish the fire. The US Drought Monitor indicates that the area remains in severe drought. In the last 30 days, a weather station near the fire recorded 2.6 inches of rainfall. In the last week, the reading on the Suwannee River Gage in Fargo, GA has gone from 15 to 25 cubic feet per second. The average for this date, over the past 78 years, is 596 cubic feet per second.
Another indicator of water level in the Okefenokee Swamp is the St. Marys River gage at Moniac, GA. In response to rain earlier in the week, the readings went from 5 to 17 cubic feet per second. Over the past 66 years, the average for this date is 86 cubic feet per second.
The low water levels continue to limit use of the 120 mile wilderness canoe trail system in the refuge. Water deep enough for paddling canoes and kayaks can be found on the west side at Billys Lake. On the east side, boating is limited to the canal at Kingfisher Landing, and the Suwannee Canal.
Volunteers cleared hazardous trees and other obstacles to boat passage so refuge managers were able to open the Suwannee Canal for day trips beyond the two mile markers. The toilet at the two mile point is available. However, the toilet at Coffee Bay was destroyed by the fire and needs to be replaced.
All boats must be off the water by 4 p.m.
On Christmas Day, the Suwannee Canal Recreation Area and Okefenokee Swamp Park will be closed. The campground at Stephen C. Foster State Park will be open.
12-14-11
19:00 hrs