The Sessoms Community wildfire was first noted by the NWS Jacksonville around 4:27 pm EDT on March 24th. By 10 pm that evening, the fire was at least 2,000 acres and was causing periodic road closures in northern Ware County.
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
The episode as NWS JAX wrote it up.
The Sessoms Community wildfire was first noted by the NWS Jacksonville around 4:27 pm EDT on March 24th. By 10 pm that evening, the fire was at least 2,000 acres and was causing periodic road closures in northern Ware County.
On the 25th, the fire was 4,000 acres large near Mulberry Road. The fire was 20 percent contained. CSX Railroad was impacted with trains delayed due to the fire. There were no evacuations at the time. The American Red Cross opened a shelter in Alma.
Early on the 27th, the Sessoms Community fire was 13,600 acres across southwest Bacon and northern Ware counties. The fire was 40 percent contained. Around 7 pm that evening, the fire was 22,250 acres. The fire was about 45 percent contained.
Early on the morning of the 29th, the fire had burned 22,246 acres and was about 55 percent contained.
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Jacksonville, FL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 24, 1:48 PM EST, 1 hour 39 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSONVILLE FL
248 PM EDT THU MAR 24 2011
.SHORT TERM...
SURFACE COLD FRONT WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE SOUTH TODAY...BUT
MOISTURE FIELDS CONTINUE TO LOOK LIMITED. HAVE KEPT SILENT 10 OR
LESS POPS IN THE FORECAST. THE BEST CHANCES FOR A STRAY SHOWER
WILL BE OVER THE EXTREME SOUTHERN ZONES THIS AFTERNOON JUST AHEAD
OF THE FRONT IF THE GRADIENT CAN RELAX ENOUGH TO ALLOW FOR A LATE
ATLANTIC SEABREEZE.
MINIMUM TEMPERATURES TONIGHT AND TOMORROW NIGHT WILL BE NEAR
NORMAL. MAXIMUM TEMPERATURES FRIDAY WILL BE CLOSER TO NORMAL...BUT
WILL STILL BE ABOVE NORMAL...IN THE MID TO UPPER 70S. THIS WEEKEND
WILL SEE THE RETURN OF FIRMLY ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES.
.LONG TERM...
WITH CONTINUED DISPARITY EXISTING BETWEEN THE GLOBAL MODELS...HAVE
NOT MADE TOO MANY CHANGES TO POPS. HAVE CAPPED MOST PRECIP AT LOW
END CHANCE LEVELS. BY TUESDAY...TEMPS SHOULD GENERALLY BE NEAR
NORMAL FOR MAXES AND ABOVE NORMAL FOR MINS.
&&
.AVIATION...VFR CONDS EXPECTED. GUSTY WEST WINDS WILL CONTINUE
UNTIL AFTER SUNSET AND ABATE BY MIDNIGHT.
&&
.MARINE...WEST WINDS AT THE BUOYS WILL VEER TO NW DURING THE
EVENING AS THE FRONT PROGRESSES FARTHER SOUTH. WILL KEEP SCEC
FOR OFFSHORE LEGS. NO HEADLINES ARE EXPECTED FRI UNTIL LATE SUNDAY
WHEN NEXT FRONT APPROACHES.
&&
.FIRE WEATHER...GUSTY WINDS COMBINED WITH LOW RH HAVE BEEN
OBSERVED IN SE GA CREATING RED FLAG CONDS...BUT FRONT IS JUST NOW
BEGINNING TO ENTER NE FL WHICH MEANS RH'S WILL PLUMMET IN NEXT
COUPLE HOURS. LOW RH'S ARE FORECAST FOR FRIDAY...HOWEVER THE ERC
FORECAST IS CURRENTLY BELOW 30 AND DO NOT ANTICIPATE ANY RED
FLAGS.
&&
.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
AMG 43 74 48 82 / 0 0 0 20
SSI 50 69 53 76 / 0 0 0 10
JAX 49 74 50 82 / 0 0 0 10
SGJ 53 72 53 79 / 0 0 0 10
GNV 49 77 47 83 / 0 0 0 10
OCF 51 79 49 84 / 0 0 0 10
&&
.JAX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
FL...RED FLAG WARNING UNTIL 7 PM EDT THIS EVENING FOR ALACHUA-BAKER-
BRADFORD-CLAY-COLUMBIA-DUVAL-FLAGLER-GILCHRIST-HAMILTON-
NASSAU-ST JOHNS-SUWANNEE-UNION.
GA...RED FLAG WARNING UNTIL 7 PM EDT THIS EVENING FOR APPLING-
ATKINSON-BACON-BRANTLEY-CHARLTON-CLINCH-COFFEE-ECHOLS-
INLAND CAMDEN-INLAND GLYNN-JEFF DAVIS-PIERCE-WARE-WAYNE.
AM...NONE.
&&
PRESNALL/TRABERT/KEEGANHAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSONVILLE FL 422 PM EDT THU MAR 24 2011 FLZ020>025-030>033-035>038-040-GAZ132>136-149>154-162>166-251000- HAMILTON-SUWANNEE-COLUMBIA-BAKER-NASSAU-DUVAL-UNION-BRADFORD-CLAY- ST JOHNS-GILCHRIST-ALACHUA-PUTNAM-FLAGLER-MARION-COFFEE- JEFF DAVIS-BACON-APPLING-WAYNE-ATKINSON-WARE-PIERCE-BRANTLEY- INLAND GLYNN-COASTAL GLYNN-ECHOLS-CLINCH-CHARLTON-INLAND CAMDEN- COASTAL CAMDEN- 422 PM EDT THU MAR 24 2011 THIS OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHEAST FLORIDA AND SOUTHEAST GEORGIA. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT... ...LAKE WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 8 PM EDT... ...AREAS OF SMOKE OVER PARTS OF INTERIOR SOUTHEAST GEORGIA... STRONG WEST TO NORTHWEST WINDS OF 15 TO 25 MPH WITH GUSTS UP TO 35 MPH WILL CONTINUE UNTIL SUNSET. WINDS WILL GRADUALLY DECREASE OVERNIGHT. LOW AFTERNOON HUMIDITY VALUES AND STRONG GUSTY WINDS WILL CREATE AN ELEVATED FIRE DANGER TODAY ACROSS MOST OF THE AREA. DUE TO WILDFIRES IN SOUTHEAST GEORGIA SMOKE IS POSSIBLE IN NORTHERN CLINCH...WARE...BACON...PIERCE...AND WAYNE COUNTIES. USE CAUTION WHEN DRIVING IN THESE AREAS AS VISIBILITIES MAY BE REDUCED. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY... LIGHTER WINDS ARE FORECAST ON FRIDAY...BUT VERY LOW HUMIDITY LEVELS ARE EXPECTED. THIS WILL PRODUCE AN ELEVATED FIRE DANGER. SHOWER AND THUNDERSTORM CHANCES ARE EXPECTED TO INCREASE FROM THE NORTH EARLY NEXT WEEK. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT REQUESTED AT THIS TIME. FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION...VISIT THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN JACKSONVILLE WEBSITE ON THE INTERNET AT WEATHER.GOV/JAX. CARROLL/ZIBURA
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSONVILLE FL
410 PM EDT THU MAR 24 2011
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0409 PM WILDFIRE 10 SSE SURRENCY 31.59N 82.13W
03/24/2011 APPLING GA EMERGENCY MNGR
WILDFIRE OF UNKNOWN SIZE NORTH OF STATE ROAD 203...NEAR
APPLING-WAYNE COUNTY LINE.
&&
ECZ1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
The Sessoms Community wildfire was first noted by the NWS Jacksonville around 4:27 pm EDT on March 24th. By 10 pm that evening, the fire was at least 2,000 acres and was causing periodic road closures in northern Ware County.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Georgia in 2011Every state in 2011This day in weather historyWarnings in Georgia, March 2011
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 294242.