Wildfire threatens unspoiled Georgia island rich in history

By RUSS BYNUM
Associated Press

ST. CATHERINES ISLAND, Ga. (AP) — Crews are fighting a wildfire that’s scorched hundreds of acres on an unspoiled island known for archaeological treasures on the coast of Georgia. St. Catherines Island was home to Spanish missionaries in the 16th century and a signer of the Declaration of Independence in the 1770s, as well as Native Americans thousands of years before Europeans arrived. For decades the island has been held in conservation in private ownership. Now fire crews are fighting to protect its historic structures and archaeological sites. A lightning storm June 11 sparked four different fires. A Georgia state agency has sent a fire crew with bulldozers and a helicopter dropping water to try to contain the fires. So far no historical structures have been damaged.