Wildfires roared through Georgia and the Southeast this fall with an unexpected ferocity that stunned firefighters and sent residents and tourists scrambling for their lives. The fires killed more than a dozen people, sent hundreds to the hospital and forced residents to abandon their homes with little more than the clothes on their backs.
It’s an unfamiliar scene for this region, more common to the devastating wildfires out West. Across the Southeast, 1.4 million acres have burned so far this year. That’s more than double the size of the entire state of Rhode Island. It’s also nearly three times the number from last year and the highest total since 2011. Thick smoke from recent blazes in North Georgia fouled the air and cancelled things like school events as far away as metro Atlanta.
And it all comes with a significant price tag: Georgia has spent $3.1 million fighting fires so far this fiscal year, well above previous years.
Recent rain has helped extinguish many of the worst fires and those still burning have been largely contained. But a scarred landscape remains. And the bad wildfire season has people wondering, and worrying. Is this year an anomaly? Or will this be the new normal?
There’s no set answer, say wildfire experts. But officials see some troubling trends, both nationally and here at home: longer wildfire seasons and large fires that are more frequent, severe and costly. The conditions driving that address more than just droughts and climate change, a political hot potato sure to spur debate. There’s also insect and disease infestations, and increasing development near woodland areas, according to the U.S. Forest Service.
One key question is whether droughts will persist, like the one this year that turned forestland to parched kindling. Forest Service officials say they see warming temperatures here, which can increase the chance of droughts. But weather experts also say they expect more precipitation down the line in the typically humid Southeast.
Then there’s the human factor. Population growth in the Southeast has outpaced any other region in the country. That means more people living close to the woods, increasing the odds of human error causing fires. A charcoal grill, a clumsy mistake and some wind can spread trouble far and wide. And then there is arson. Two juvenile have been charged with aggravated arson in connection with the fire in Gatlinburg, Tenn. that left 14 dead. Authorities also suspect arson as the cause of the Rock Mountain fire in North Georgia that consumed some 25,000 acres.
By Northside Hospital Careers
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Just how bad was this year? Look at just one day, Nov. 30. There were 18 major fires burning 144,000 acres in the Southeast. Around the same time last year, there were two major fires and both were fully contained, according to the Forest Service.
“We always used to think in terms of fire seasons and the seasonality of some of these fire events,” said Larry Sutton, assistant director for operations for the Forest Service’s fire and aviation management program. “We are really looking at year-round fire seasons that could crop up anywhere at any time.”
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