Despite some brief showers over the past week, the burn ban in Leflore and Carroll counties remains in effect.
The ban is still in place in 78 of Mississippi’s 82 counties. The other four counties — Wilkinson, Hancock, Harrison and Jackson — are located in the southernmost part of the state.
Carroll County imposed its own burn ban early in October. Leflore County was covered by a burn ban issued by Gov. Phil Bryant. Both bans remain in effect until lifted by Bryant.
Dry conditions are likely to continue through the weekend, said Alan Campbell, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Jackson.
“The earliest chance of precipitation looks like Monday afternoon and evening and lasting through a good chunk of Tuesday,” he said.
The rainfall might bring as much as 1 to 2 inches to the Delta region, Campbell said.
Drought is measured by the Keetch-Byram Drought Index, which measures the water content of the soil and duff layers. The scale ranges from 0 to 800, with 800 meaning there is no soil moisture available for vegetation. The index increases each day the area does not have rainfall.
The KBDI index is currently more than 700 in most parts of the state.
Since July, Greenwood-Leflore Airport has recorded 7.76 inches of rainfall. Most of that — 4.02 inches — fell in early August. Totals since then have been 1.88 inches in September, 0.82 in October and 1.04 in November.
“Don’t do any outdoor burning right now — wait until burn bans are lifted and drought conditions improve. A small spark can become a large wildfire when conditions are dry and windy,” Russell Bowman, assistant state forester, said in a statement.
The burn ban does not prohibit propane grills, gas heaters and charcoal grills. However, charcoal grills, which have been the source of some wildfires in the past, do require certain precautions.
The commission recommends letting the coals cool completely and dousing them with water before disposing of them in a metal container. The residual ash should be cold to the touch before it is thrown out.
Since Sept. 1, the Mississippi Forestry Commission responded to and suppressed 946 wildfires that burned 8,467 acres. During this time 1,420 structures were threatened by wildfire activity. Fifty-eight structures were damaged or destroyed.
• Contact Bob Darden at 581-7239 or bdarden @gwcommonwealth.com.
