A Red Flag Warning is active today for two northeast Georgia counties, and Fire Weather Watches stretch across dozens of counties statewide through Monday evening. Dry air, low humidity, and gusty winds are expected to make any fires that start spread fast.
What’s happening: Rabun and Habersham counties are under a Red Flag Warning until 8 p.m. today. That means dangerous fire weather is happening now or is about to. Fire Weather Watches, which signal that dangerous conditions are coming but haven’t arrived yet, cover counties across northeast, southwest, and central Georgia through Monday evening.
Where the watches apply:
- Southwest Georgia: Quitman, Randolph, Calhoun, Terrell, Lee, Coffee, Early, and Clay counties — Monday morning through Monday evening
- Northeast Georgia mountains: Rabun and Habersham counties — Monday afternoon through Monday evening
- Northeast Georgia: Stephens, Franklin, Hart, and Elbert counties — Monday noon to 8 p.m.
- Northeast Georgia (broader area): Fannin, Gilmer, Union, Towns, Pickens, Dawson, Lumpkin, White, Cherokee, Forsyth, Hall, Banks, Jackson, Madison, Gwinnett, and Barrow counties — Monday noon to 8 p.m.
- Central and southeast Georgia: Warren, Washington, Glascock, Jefferson, Johnson, Emanuel, Laurens, Treutlen, Dodge, Telfair, Wheeler, Montgomery, and Toombs counties — through 8 p.m. today
What’s important: Humidity is expected to drop to between 15 and 30 percent across affected areas. Wind gusts are forecast between 20 and 30 mph, with the strongest gusts along mountain ridgelines in northeast Georgia. Fuel moisture — how dry the grass, brush, and trees are — is expected to fall to 8 percent or lower in some spots, a level at which vegetation catches fire and burns very easily.
Drought factor: An ongoing drought across northeast Georgia has already dried out the landscape. Because of that, forecasters say fire weather becomes dangerous at humidity levels of 30 percent or less, a lower bar than usual.
Chattahoochee National Forest: The watch covering the broader northeast Georgia zone includes portions of the Chattahoochee National Forest, a large federal forest that covers much of the north Georgia mountains.
What this means for you: Outdoor burning is not recommended across all affected areas. Before lighting any outdoor fire, residents should check with their local burn permitting authority.
The path forward: Fire Weather Watches can be upgraded to Red Flag Warnings if conditions get worse. Forecasters say to watch for updated alerts through Monday evening.
B.T. Clark
B.T. Clark is an award-winning journalist and the Publisher of The Georgia Sun. He has 25 years of experience in journalism and served as Managing Editor of Neighbor Newspapers in metro Atlanta for 15 years and Digital Director at Times-Journal Inc. for 8 years. His work has appeared in several newspapers throughout the state including Neighbor Newspapers, The Cherokee Tribune and The Marietta Daily Journal. He is a Georgia native and a fifth-generation Georgian.
