This photo provided by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources shows firefighters responding to the Pineland Road Fire in southeast Georgia on Wednesday. (Georgia Department of Natural Resources via AP)

NAHUNTA, Ga. (AP) — Wildfires burning across the southeastern U.S. forced more people to flee Wednesday after destroying nearly 50 homes in Georgia and causing some schools closings as drought and winds fueled flames.

Some of the biggest blazes were near Georgia’s coast while others were popping up in northern Florida, a state facing one of its worst fire seasons in decades.

It was not yet clear how the wildfires started, but the bottom half of Georgia is perilously dry and the conditions prompted the state’s forestry commission to issue a burn ban for the first time in its history. Southeastern Georgia has seen just 11 inches of rain since the beginning of September — almost 15 inches below normal, the National Weather Service said.

The fires spread so quickly in southern Georgia that residents received no warnings or alerts.

“I wish that I had knew something more,” said Brianna Elliott, who left home Tuesday only to find her route back blocked by the fires 90 minutes later. “I would have turned around in that moment and gone home and got my animals before anything.”

She now fears that her home and her dogs are gone.

Georgia’s two biggest wildfires together have burned more than 31 square miles, and at least four other smaller fires have been reported in the state.

The fast-moving Brantley County fire was threatening roughly 1,000 homes Wednesday after destroying almost 50 a day earlier.

That fire grew in size by roughly six times in just a half day Tuesday, said Joey Cason, the county manager. There were fires erupting “in the backyard and people taking off in the front yard,” he said Wednesday.

So far, no major injuries have been reported, Cason said.