Tuesday, March 25, 2025–11:04 a.m.

-David Crowder, WRGA News-

Floyd County Police say a wildfire that burned around 200 acres in the Rosedale area on Sunday was intentionally set, and charges will be filed.

The fire jumped Highway 156 in two spots, threatening the Southern Woods subdivision and causing evacuations.

“We were able to get it contained,” said Rome-Floyd County Fire Chief Troy Brock. “It wasn’t just due to us; it was probably one of the greatest collaborative efforts from many agencies and the Rosedale community that I have witnessed during my career with the Rome-Floyd County Fire Department.”

According to Deputy Chief Brad Roberson, due to the manpower it took to fight the Rosedale fire, the fire department was down to just two units to cover the rest of the county, which is 514 square miles.

They were able to get two reserve units activated pretty quickly, plus there was assistance from multiple agencies, including:

Summerville Fire Department

Gore Fire Department

Polk County Fire Department

Gordon County Fire Department

Cedartown Fire Department

Chattoogaville Fire Department

Atrium EMS

AdventHealth EMS

Georgia Department of Public Health

Floyd County Sheriff’s Office

Floyd County Police

Floyd County Emergency Management

Georgia State Patrol

Georgia Department of Natural Resources

Georgia Forestry Commission

Georgia Emergency Management

Floyd Springs Baptist Church

Armuchee Baptist Church

“We want to send out a special thank you to the people of our community, especially the Armuchee community,” Roberson said. “They were working hard to protect their property, but also stepping up to protect their neighbor’s property, and assist us when they could. They were pulling hose and had our backs the whole way. So, we want to show our appreciation.”

Although Sunday’s wildfire appears to have been intentionally set, even activities such as burning vegetation and debris can get out of control.

“There are days this time of year when you want to burn,” Brock said. “This time of year, burning is needed, but you want to first look at the weather forecast. There are good days to burn and not good days to burn, mainly due to high winds. Today is a day you do not need to burn.”