The Alabama Forestry Commission issued a fire alert in Lee County and 45 other Alabama counties because of extreme drought conditions.
"The Fire Alert was issued because of the current drought situation, continued lack of precipitation, high probability of fuel ignition, and shortage of available firefighting manpower and resources," a commission press release said.
In the affected counties, burn permits will be limited and issued at the discretion of the state forester as part of the upgraded Fire Danger Warning.
Last week, a controlled burn in Auburn got out of hand because of dry conditions. The Forestry Commission had to bring heavy equipment in order to put out the fire that had grown to more 300 acres.
The commission issued the order for Autauga, Bibb, Blount, Calhoun, Chambers, Cherokee, Chilton, Clay, Cleburne, Colbert, Coosa, Cullman, Dallas, DeKalb, Elmore, Etowah, Fayette, Franklin, Greene, Hale, Jackson, Jefferson, Lamar, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Lee, Limestone, Lowndes, Macon, Madison, Marion, Marshall, Montgomery, Morgan, Perry, Pickens, Randolph, Russell, Shelby, St. Clair, Sumter, Talladega, Tallapoosa, Tuscaloosa, Walker and Winston counties.
Commission officials said fires can spread quickly out of control because of recent extreme dry weather. The fires can damage not only forests, but homes and other property. Fall season low humidity and strong winds also increase the potential for wildfires.
Over the last week alone, 307 wildfires burned more than 3,500 acres. The alert will remain in effect until the state forester rescinds it. The press release indicated the alert won't be rescinded until conditions change to reduce the frequency of wildfires.
"The Commission is urging everyone to exercise all necessary safety precautions when doing any type of outdoor burning, and to call the Alabama Forestry Commission to obtain a burn permit," the release said.
For more information on the current wildfire situation in the state, visit www.forestry.alabama.gov/fire_totals.aspx.
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