The continuing dry conditions across the state and the beginning of recreation season are causes for Forest Service officials to be concerned. “The forests are extremely dry and users should be extra careful as they enjoy the outdoors, especially if they’re using the grills and fires in developed campsites”, said Miera B. Crawford, supervisor for the National Forests in Alabama. Memorial Day is the first major summer holiday and officials are expecting an increase in recreational activities in Alabama’s four national forests. As of now, fires are allowed in developed campgrounds. Officials are reminding forest users to never leave a fire unattended, to take the extra time to make sure the fire is out, and that coals and ashes are cool to the touch before leaving the area. Forest officials say since January 1, on an average, they’ve had a forest fire start about every two days, most of which are human caused. Some forest management activities have been stopped due to the high fire danger and for activities such as prescribed burns, permission from the Regional Office in Atlanta is necessary. Crawford said in addition to wildfire control efforts in our Alabama national forests, at least 12 Forest employees are helping to fight fires in Georgia and Florida. She is asking for cooperation from the public and urging everyone to be careful as they enjoy the outdoors during this time. Effective at 9:a.m. May 18, all 67 counties in the State of Alabama were placed under a Fire Alert. The order was signed today by State Forester Linda S. Casey. The alert was issued because of drought conditions across the state and the extremely high potential for devastating wildfire. Rain received the past few days was not enough to eliminate the problem and the chance of rain through the weekend and next week is extremely small. According to officials with the Forestry Commission, conditions in Alabama are extreme and the potential for a fire to get out of hand is high. The fire alert will remain in effect until enough rain is received to eliminate the problem. For more information contact you local Alabama Forestry Commission office or log onto the AFC web page at www.forestry.alabama.gov . You can also visit http://drought.unl.edu/dm for information on the drought.
