Georgia Wildfire Relief Fund - brochure with pledge form

A special fund to help family forests hit hard by Georgia’s devastating 2007 wildfires was established by a coalition of concerned partners in January 2008. The Wildfire Relief Fund is a tax-deductible program that will provide financial assistance to landowners for the restoration of their forests.

According to the Georgia Forestry Commission (GFC), during 2007, unprecedented drought conditions contributed to wildfires that burned more than 500,000 acres statewide. In excess of 30,000 acres of private family forestlands were lost. Southeast Georgia was especially hard-hit, and a 21-county area comprised the Georgia Governor’s Emergency Declaration Area. Official estimates show a loss of $15.3 million in timber stumpage value and enormous losses to ecological benefits provided by healthy forests. Reforestation is expected to cost over $8 million.

“Following the wildfire disaster, several natural resource-related organizations contacted us at the GFC to offer financial donations to help offset unexpected reforestation costs experienced by family forest owners,” said Robert Farris, GFC Interim Director.

“We are asking for help in raising seven million dollars,” said Monte Simpson, Fund spokesperson and Weyerhaeuser Public Affairs Manager. “That’s less than one dollar from each resident in the state to bring back this area from the misfortune it experienced last spring.”

Once funds have been received, the GFC will notify family forest landowners known to have been affected by the fires and they will be given the opportunity to apply for reforestation funds from the WRF.

The Georgia Wildfire Relief Fund is a 501 (c)(3) tax-deductible program. It is accepting donations:

by mail at: Wildfire Relief Fund, Seven Rivers RC&D Office, 239 North East Park Avenue, Ste. E, Baxley, GA 31513;
by calling 912-367-7679;
by logging onto www.sevenriversrcd.org.


Partners of the Wildfire Relief Fund (WRF) include:
BASF
Georgia Conservancy
Georgia Department of Natural Resources
Georgia Forestry Association
Georgia Forestry Commission
Georgia Wildlife Federation
International Forest Company
National Wild Turkey Federation
Seven Rivers Resource Conservation & Development Council
USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Weyerhaeuser

Wildfire: Georgia's Historic Inferno is now available online.
When a downed power line ignited the drought-parched forest floor on April 16, 2007, it set off a chain of staggering events. The Georgia Wildfires of 2007 soon became the largest and most devastating in state history. This windows media video file is posted at gatrees.org/Resources/Audiovisual.cfm.