Fire risk increases as dry weather persists

Oct. 24—Local officials are concerned that two large field fires could be a sign of things to come as dry weather persists in the area, although farmers are benefiting from the weather as they harvest their crops.

Courtland Fire Chief Scott Norwood said the fires occurred near Courtland during the past six days, and noted that the state is under a no-burn order.

"People please do not burn because it is super, super dry," Norwood said.

Ashley Ravenscraft, meteorologist at National Weather Service's Huntsville office, said north Alabama hasn't had any significant rain since early September and the forecast isn't likely to improve.

Ravenscraft said the last significant rains were 0.3 of an inch on Sept. 15 and 0.84 of an inch on Sept. 2.

"Over the next seven days, which is as far as our forecast goes out, we really don't have any rain coming at all," Ravenscraft said. "Some of our northwestern counties may get clipped by something this weekend, but the chances of that are still pretty low."

She said the Climate Prediction Center shows "the pattern may favor some rains as we get into next week but, as far as beneficial rainfall goes, it may be a while."

Ravenscraft said they issued a red flag warning — signaling a high risk of fires — for the first time since 2016 on Saturday. The warning was issued because of the dry weather, compounded by dry air and increasing winds.

The Weather Service prediction shows winds increasing to a range of 10 to 20 mph on Tuesday and Wednesday.

"Given how dry the air and the soil are, we may be flirting with a red flag warning criteria," Ravenscraft said. "It looks like the winds (Tuesday) are going to be higher in the morning. The afternoon is when the air is the driest (so the reduced winds then) may offset our issues a little bit."

Ravenscraft said she knows "everybody is itching to get their bonfires started but it's just not a good idea right now."

Alabama Forestry, the Moulton Fire Department and volunteer fire departments from Courtland, Chalybeate and Caddo battled a fire that started Wednesday off Lawrence County 277 and near Alabama 33, Norwood said.

Norwood said the fire burned mainly grass and woods on about 150 acres. This fire appeared to be contained but then it sparked back up on Sunday and jumped the fire line created by Forestry.

"Forestry had to bring their bulldozers back out and create another fire line," Norwood said Monday. "It's out now."

Norwood said a weekend fire during the harvest in a soybean field spread over close to 150 acres off Lawrence County 418. The fire was near the county's landfill.

Norwood said a combine caught fire and they thought the small blaze was out, "but the wind picked up the embers and spread them to the field."

The chief said the harvest was only partly complete, so the farmer lost some of his soybeans.

No one was injured in either fire, Norwood said.

Morgan County Emergency Management Director Jonathan Warner said his county had a few brush fires "but nothing that got out of hand. As dry as it is, this could change at any time."

Decatur Fire & Rescue Chief Tracy Thornton said his department responded to a few small brushfires in the past week "that we were quickly able to contain."

Daphne Ellison, of Limestone County EMA, said she's not aware of any outdoor fires in her county recently.

The dry weather isn't all bad because it allows the farmers to get in their crops during the fall harvest season, said Cade Grace, regional extension agent for the Alabama Cooperative Extension Service.

Grace, who works out of Jasper and covers the Tennessee Valley, said local farmers appear to be having a good season, especially with soybeans, cotton and corn.

"It's made it easier to harvest because you don't have to worry about harvesting in the mud," Grace said. "The crops are drying down and you're not having to worry about putting them in a bin to try to get them dry. The moisture content is much better."

Grace said that while the dry weather helps with harvesting, it creates challenges for farmers as they seek to avoid starting a fire.

"When you have low humidity, wind and you're in drought conditions, everything is just exacerbated because there's no moisture," Grace said.

He said people "have to be more judicious" about keeping their farming equipment clean.

"It's important that they make sure they don't have any cotton or trash around the engine and other parts," Grace said. "They can burn in any type of condition, but this just exacerbates the problem."

Grace said another problem with the drought-like conditions is planting. He said the dry weather makes it difficult for farmers to plant their fall crops, like winter wheat, and for cattle farmers to plant their winter forage.

— bayne.hughes@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2432. Twitter @DD_BayneHughes.