Wildfires burning across the southeastern United States have destroyed 47 homes in southeastern Georgia and forced evacuations in multiple communities as the region faces one of its worst fire seasons in decades.

The home losses occurred Tuesday in Brantley County, Georgia, where a fast-moving wildfire prompted emergency evacuations, according to County Manager Joey Cason. "There were literally evacuations that were taking place with people removed by our EMS service from the porch as the fire was in their backyard," Cason told WJAX-TV.

The largest fires are concentrated between Jacksonville, Florida, and along Georgia's coast. A combination of prolonged drought conditions, low humidity and strong winds has fueled the blazes across the region. Florida has experienced drought conditions for 18 months, according to state Commissioner of Agriculture Wilton Simpson, who said the state is facing "one of the worst fire seasons in maybe the last 30 or 40 years."

Evacuations remain underway in multiple communities, the Georgia Forestry Association said Wednesday. Florida officials have positioned firefighting equipment across the state to ensure resources are closer to active fires. A wildfire briefly disrupted Amtrak train service Monday in northeastern Florida, though normal service resumed Wednesday.

The National Weather Service warned that dangerous combinations of low humidity and breezy winds will keep fire danger elevated through Friday. Smoke from the fires has drifted to major cities including Atlanta, Savannah and Jacksonville, with air quality warnings issued for areas closer to the blazes. The Atlanta-Fulton County Emergency Management Agency said smoky conditions were expected to persist throughout the Atlanta area Wednesday, despite the fires burning more than 200 miles southeast of the city.