Fall fire season is off to a raging start, with ongoing drought fueling hundreds of fires burning from Texas to Virginia.
According to the data from NASA satellites, there are dozens of fires of more than 100 acres in size burning in Texas, across the Southeast and in the mid-Atlantic regions. More than 400 fires greater than 100 acres in size are burning across the U.S., according to the FOX Forecast Center.
Fires in Louisiana, Tennessee, North Carolina and Virginia are reducing air quality across the eastern U.S. Smoke particles in the air are prompting local health officials to issue air quality action days or red and orange health alerts.
The largest fire in western North Carolina, the Collett Fire, is burning uncontrolled and has consumed nearly 3,000 acres in a remote forested area of the Nantahala Mountains. In recent days the smoke has reduced air quality in Andrews, North Carolina, to unhealthy levels on the Air Quality Index. To the east in Henderson County, the Poplar Fire has already destroyed several homes and continues to threaten others after burning more than 430 acres. Containment remains at 5%. Burn bans are in place across western North Carolina as drought conditions could rapidly turn a spark into a wildfire.
Multiple fires are burning near Knoxville and along the Tennessee-Georgia line.
The Georgia Forestry Commission reports at least five fires driven by drought conditions are being fought in North Georgia.
In Virginia, the Quaker Run Fire burning near the eastern side of Shenandoah National Park has created unhealthy to very unhealthy air quality, according to the AQI forecast. The Quaker Run Fire has grown to more than 2,400 acres as firefighters work to stop the blaze from spreading west. Residents in Madison County are being told to closely watch for evacuation notices. Air quality in Madison is forecast to reach unhealthy to hazardous levels by Tuesday night.
Firefighters have been battling hundreds of fires in Louisiana since the summer during extreme heat and drought conditions. Fires in southern Louisiana have resulted in super fog on highways, creating near-zero visibility and causing crashes, including a deadly October pileup that involved more than 100 vehicles.
About 37% of the continental U.S. remains under some form of drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. That is up from 27% three months ago.
For the states experiencing rapidly spreading wildfires, drought conditions range from moderate to exceptional – the most extreme on the Drought Monitor’s scale.
More than 90% of North Carolina is experiencing drought conditions, with severe drought in the southwestern corner of the state. East Texas, Louisiana and southern Mississippi are facing extreme and exceptional drought.
The coming winter months could help improve drought conditions. With El Niño, forecasters with NOAA predict high chances of above-average precipitation this winter along the Gulf Coast and Southeast.