Georgia wildfire: hot, dry conditions vexing to firefighters

A fire truck passes as a plume of smoke rising from a wildfire burning, Monday, May 8, 2017, just outside the town of St. George, Ga. Officials placed the town under a mandatory evacuation after winds pushed the fire out of the neighboring Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, where a lightning strike started the blaze a month earlier. (AP Photo/Russ Bynum) (The Associated Press)

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Firefighters take a break Monday, May 8, 2017, outside a church in St. George, Ga., where officials have issued a mandatory evacuation as a vast wildfire burns at the town's edge. The fire started April 6, 2017, in the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge near the Georgia-Florida state line and has since burned roughly 210 square miles. (AP Photo/Russ Bynum) (The Associated Press)

In this Saturday, May 6, 2017 photo provided by the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge smoke rises from a wildfire east of Fargo, Ga. Firefighters were battling Sunday to prevent the fire from spreading, authorities said. (Ben Palm/Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge via AP) (The Associated Press)

ST. GEORGE, Ga. – Officials say a huge wildfire threatening homes near the Georgia-Florida state line is expected to keep growing after recently escaping the boundaries of the vast Okefenokee Swamp.

The fire has blackened more than 210 square miles (540 square kilometers) of swampland. It's near two small communities in southeast Georgia but many residents stayed put as of Monday, despite an evacuation order.

Tom Stokesberry, a spokesman for the command team fighting the wildfire, says hot and dry weather conditions expected Tuesday will be ideal for its continued growth.

Hundreds of firefighters are trying to contain the blaze, which burned for a month mostly inside the Okefenokee National Wildlife refuge. Last weekend, the fire escaped the refuge boundary.