The Mississippi Forestry Commission is asking residents to exercise caution in light of extreme drought conditions. The threat of wildfires becomes more elevated as hot and dry conditions turn vegetation into fuel for fires.
State Forester Russell Bozeman says multiple factors go into determining a "drought index" number, and warnings and burn bans roll out when that index reaches a certain threshold.
“When the drought index gets between 600 and 700 we start seeing an increase in wildfire activity, not just the number of wildfires but the fire behavior itself,” he said. “We start having those communications, start talking with the counties, the county emergency management directors, the county fire coordinators, they're letting us know what they're seeing, we're letting them know what we're seeing.”
According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, Mississippi’s overall drought index is at 36. However, there are currently burn bans in effect for five southwestern counties, where the drought index has reached as high as 174.
The forestry commission responds on average to 2,000 wildfires that burn up 30,000 acres every year.
Bozeman says nine out of 10 wildfires that occur in Mississippi are man-made and avoidable.
“Debris burning, that's usually one of our biggest causes for wildfire,” he said.”sparks from vehicles going up and down the road can actually start a fire on the side of the road… Or somebody, flipping a cigarette out of a moving vehicle, things like that.”
