The North Carolina Forest Service last Saturday issued a statewide ban on all open burning and canceled all burning permits until further notice as dry conditions persist across the state.

No new permits will be issued until the ban, which went into effect at 6 p.m. on March 28, is lifted.

Due to increased wildfire risk, the N.C. Forest Service has issued a ban on all open burning and has canceled all burning permits statewide effective 6 p.m. Saturday, March 28 until further notice.  

“With drought severity across the state, forecast fire weather and the potential for limited rainfall, it is critical to reduce the number of new fire starts,” N.C. Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler stated in a release. “Vegetative fuels will dry rapidly, and with the amount of fuel loading in the mountains and drought impacts statewide, a burn ban for all 100 counties is necessary to reduce the number of wildfires across our landscape. Please follow this burn ban to help reduce the risk for everyone.”

The ban does not apply to fires started within 100 feet of an occupied dwelling, but check with your local fire marshal to make sure a local burn ban has not been issued on fires within 100 feet.

Violators of the ban face a $100 fine plus $183 court costs. Anyone found to be responsible for setting a fire may be liable for costs associated with extinguishing that fire.

Forest Service officials will continue to monitor conditions. If you have specific questions, you may contact your N.C. Forest Service county ranger or county fire marshal’s office.  

With an overwhelming majority of counties under extreme drought, the North Carolina Forest Service is asking residents to be extra cautious when burning outdoors.

“With the recent rainfall combined with multiple winter storms earlier this year, some folks may not realize that most of North Carolina is still experiencing very dry conditions,” N.C. Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler stated in a release. “Our state’s gradual descent into drought and prolonged dry conditions are going to lead to wildfires igniting more easily, burning more intensely and spreading quicker. The best defense against wildfires will always be to prevent them from starting.”

According to the latest North Carolina Drought Advisory issued Feb. 19 by the Drought Management Advisory Council, 72 of the state’s 100 counties were experiencing severe drought.

As of Feb. 17, almost all of the 20 coastal counties were under moderate drought, with Carteret County experiencing abnormally dry conditions.

The N.C. Drought Management Advisory Council urges residents to practice various water conservation measures as the Forest Service asks the public to apply best practices and common sense when burning outdoors, especially yard debris.

The leading cause of wildfires across North Carolina continues to be escaped yard debris burns, according to the Forest Service. In fact, nearly half of all wildfires in the state start as a result of uncontrolled yard debris burns.

Human-caused wildfires also stem from machine and vehicle use, dragging tow chains, arson and escaped campfires.

“A fire can escape in a matter of seconds, especially on warm days when winds are gusty,” Troxler stated. “This means you never leave a fire unattended until it is completely out and cold.”

Counties in western North Carolina where forests were substantially damaged during Hurricane Helene in September 2024 “remain especially vulnerable to wildfires due to dead and dying timber,” the Forest Service stated.

Residents should contact their local N.C. Forest Service county ranger’s office before starting outdoor fires.

Observe the following safe burning practices:

• Check local burning laws.
• Ensure you have a valid permit to burn.
• Avoid burning on dry, windy days, placing yard vegetation in a cleared area and contain it by a screen receptacle away from overhead branches and wires.
• Don’t burn on dry, windy days.
• Place vegetative debris in a cleared area and contain it in a screened receptacle away from overhead branches and wires.
• Be sure you are fully prepared before burning, keeping a hose, bucket, steel rake and shovel to toss dirt on the fire, and a phone, close by.
• Do not use kerosene, gasoline, diesel fuel or other flammable liquids to fuel a fire.
• Stay with your fire until it is completely out.
• Apply these tips to campfires and grills, dousing burning charcoal briquettes or campfires thoroughly with water until embers are cold to the touch. Use dirt or sand as an alternative to extinguish the fire, but be careful not to bury the fire.

Residents, especially those sensitive to smoke, including children, active people, older adults and those with heart or lung disease such as asthma, can stay smoke ready by utilizing air quality index resources, including the following:

• The Division of Air Quality website.
• The N.C. State University and Division of Air Quality portal.
• airnow.gov.

For additional information on how to prepare for and prevent wildfires, visit www.preventwildfirenc.org.

North Carolina is experiencing widespread dry conditions, with 15 of the state’s 20 coastal counties being classified as abnormally dry, according to the latest update of the state Drought Management Advisory Council.

Counties in central and western part of the state are experiencing the driest conditions, with 32 of them considered to be in severe drought, and 53 in drought conditions, according to the council’s Thursday update.

“The state has been drying out since the middle of August,” council Chair Klaus Albertin said in a release. “The region is seeing a La Niña pattern, which often results in lower-than-average rainfall. We hope to see some relief towards the spring, with forecasts predicting this pattern to weaken over the next few months.”

The council recommends water systems in counties experiencing severe drought implement their water shortage response plans, participate in regional and local coordination to manage water resources, reexamine water delivery systems to minimize water loss and eliminate nonessential users of water, according to the release.

Systems in counties under drought should asses their drought readiness and consider voluntary water conservation.

While negative impacts from these conditions are expected to be limited in the cooler months because of lower water demand, water reservoir levels “are continuing to drop,” according to the release.

“For water recreators, stream flow averages statewide are falling below normal. Average streamflows recorded at U.S. Geological Survey ga(u)ges at many locations in central and western North Carolina have fallen below the 10th percentile,” the release states.

Council members meet weekly and submit drought condition recommendations to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the National Drought Mitigation Center.

The council consists of drought experts from various government agencies in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia and is organized by the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Water Resources.

The drought map is updated weekly on Thursdays, based on conditions through the previous Tuesday.

For the first time in eight months, North Carolina is drought-free.

In its latest advisory issued Thursday, the North Carolina Drought Management Advisory Council, or DMAC, announced that the state is, for the first time since Oct. 15, 2024, free of drought or abnormally dry conditions.

“Due (to) the drought’s timing in winter and spring, impacts were limited, since it occurred at a time when water demands are typically lower,” Klaus Albertin, chair of the DMAC, said in a release. “Reservoir operators were able to control releases to keep water levels near target. There were some limited report impacts to agriculture. We did see an active wildfire season amid the drought and dry conditions.”

Though much of the state has experienced dry conditions since last fall, the coastal plain has suffered the largest rainfall deficits. Wilmington, for example, had a near 15-inch rainfall deficit compared to the 30-year average for that same amount of time, between October of last year and mid-April, according to the North Carolina State Climate Office.

Despite the drought, eastern North Carolina was hit with a band of storms that brought significant rain and localized flooding to the area. A number of heavy rain events this month already have put Elizabeth City on pace for its wettest June on record, according to the state Climate Office.

A total of 6.52 inches of rain had fallen on the city as of June 17. Greenville had a total of 6.71 inches of rain between June 15-16, making it that city’s wettest two-day period since Hurricane Florence in 2018.

“The dryness that began in October of 2024 began tapering off in March and regular, sometimes heavy, rain since then has brought streamflow, reservoir levels, and soil conditions back to normal,” Albertin said in the release. “We shifted out of the La Niña pattern, which allowed regular cold fronts to come through, along with heavy rains.”

The DMAC updates the drought map every Thursday. The council is made up of drought experts from different government agencies in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia, and it is organized by the N. C. Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Water Resources.

DMAC members meet weekly and submit their drought condition recommendations to the national Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Department of Agriculture and the National Drought Mitigation Center. The Thursday updates, which are based on conditions through the previous Tuesday, are provided to the U.S. Drought Monitor, a map of drought conditions throughout the nation. 

The North Carolina Drought Management Advisory Council recommends residents in coastal counties that are experiencing severe drought conditions cut out nonessential water use.

The council, which monitors drought conditions throughout the state, last week classified eight counties in eastern North Carolina, including five on the coast, as experiencing severe drought.

Those counties include Beaufort, Craven, New Hanover, Onslow, Pender, Columbus, Martin and Washington.

Water users in counties experiencing severe drought should implement Water Shortage Response Plans, participate in regional and local coordination of water resource management, reexamine water delivery systems to minimize water loss and maximize efficiency, and eliminate nonessential users of water, according to a N.C. Department of Environmental Quality release.

Fifty counties in the Piedmont and western part of the state have been classified as experiencing moderate drought conditions and another 32 counties are experiencing abnormally dry conditions.

“The effects of a very dry winter and early spring are starting to be seen,” council Chair Klaus Albertin said in a release. “Some areas are seeing a rainfall deficit of 6 to 10 inches since October. Impacts from ongoing drought conditions were limited in winter months, but will become more noticeable as we enter the growing season.”

The council is organized by DEQ’s Division of Water Resources and includes drought experts from government agencies in North Carolina, Virginia, and South Carolina. The council meets weekly. Drought maps are updated every Thursday.

Drought conditions continued throughout much of North Carolina this week, where a statewide open burn ban remained in effect as firefighters continued to battle a wildfire in the western part of the state.

All or parts of the state’s 20 coastal counties have now been classified as experiencing moderate drought by the North Carolina Drought Management Advisory Council.

In its Thursday advisory, the council announced it had designated that same classification to all or parts of 70 counties, including most of the eastern part of the state.

Parts of Onslow County continue to experience severe drought.

“North Carolina saw another week of below or well below average rainfall,” Council Chair Klaus Albertin said in a release. “Impacts from the slow-growing, but widespread, drought had been limited due to lower water demands in winter, but are starting to be felt. Low humidity, high winds and dry vegetation have contributed to increased wildfire activity and impacts to agriculture.” 

The North Carolina Forest Service issued a ban on all open burning March 21. The agency has canceled all burning permits until further notice. 

Council members meet weekly and submit their drought recommendations to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the National Drought Mitigation Center.

The council is a collaboration of drought experts from government agencies in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. It is organized by the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Water Resources.

The council’s classifications are submitted for updates to the U.S. Drought Monitor.

As wildfire season nears, all but one of North Carolina’s 100 counties are experiencing drought or abnormally dry conditions, according to the latest advisory from the North Carolina Drought Management Advisory Council.

Carteret, Craven, Jones, Onslow and Pamlico counties are classified as experiencing severe drought, the Thursday advisory states.

Moderate drought conditions are in 58 counties, while another 36 counties are classified as abnormally dry, according to a North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality release.

“The good news is that these persistent drought and dry conditions have occurred over the winter, when water demands are lower,” Klaus Albertin, advisory committee chair, said in the release. “Farmers have seen some pasture and winter grain impacts, but it’s not the main growing season, so impacts were limited. Water supply reservoirs have been able to manage their levels and are at targets for this time of year. The deficits could set up a challenging spring if the pattern doesn’t change.” 

Areas of the state have been experiencing drought conditions since mid-October. Between that month and February, the statewide average rainfall deficit was 6.64 inches according to information provided by the National Centers for Environmental Information.

“We’ve only had a few weeks that have met or exceeded average rainfall expectations since October,” Albertin said. “As a result, we’ve been slowly building a large deficit. It was somewhat expected because of the La Niña weather pattern.” 

The North Carolina Forest Service urges North Carolinians to use common sense and best practices with outdoor fires, particularly for burning yard debris. North Carolina’s wildfire season kicks off in the spring, the first official day of which is March 20.

Opening burning in the state is allowed only in limited circumstances and only for vegetative materials, including leaves, limbs and yard debris.

Members of the drought management advisory council meet weekly and submit their drought condition recommendations to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the National Drought Mitigation Center for updates to the U.S. Drought Monitor.

The council’s drought map is updated each Thursday based on conditions through the previous Tuesday.

For additional information visit https://www.ncdrought.org/education. 

All or portions of nearly a dozen eastern North Carolina counties are experiencing severe drought conditions.

North Carolina’s Drought Management Advisory Council’s latest advisory, which was issued Thursday, includes some or all Beaufort, Dare, Duplin, Greene, Hyde, Martin, Onslow, Pender, Pitt, Tyrrell and Washington counties.

All of the state’s other coastal counties and those well west are experiencing moderate drought conditions, according to the latest map.

“This current dry spell in North Carolina began with a very dry October and warm November,” Klaus Albertin, Drought Management Advisory Council chair, said in a release. “We have had a number of rain events, but the total monthly precipitation for many areas in the state has been below average in October, November and December. While some areas received four to 4 to 6 inches of snowfall last week, the water equivalence of snow is much less than rainfall, so the end effect was less than an inch of moisture.” 

He said the mid- to long-term forecast is calling for a continued dry winter because of the La Nina pattern, which typically occurs every 3 to 5 years when ocean temperatures in the central and east-central equatorial Pacific cool.

Though water systems are not expected to be greatly impacted because of lower demand and dormant vegetation, residents living in severe drought conditions are encouraged to follow local water utilities’ water shortage response programs.

The drought map is updated every Thursday, based on conditions through the previous Tuesday.

The N.C. Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Water Resources organizes the drought advisory council.

The council is a collaboration of drought experts from state agencies in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. These experts meet weekly and submit their drought condition recommendations to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the National Drought Mitigation Center for updates to the U.S. Drought Monitor.

More information is available at https://www.ncdrought.org/ed.

First of two parts

As the fall wildfire season begins in North Carolina, the lead agency that responds to these uncontrolled fires in natural areas encourages residents be vigilant while burning outside.

“I’d like to remind folks about the importance of exercising caution with all outdoor fires, especially yard debris burns,” North Carolina Forest Service Division Public Information Officer Philip Jackson told Coastal Review.

Human activity causes 99% of North Carolina’s wildfires. Of that 99%, nearly half are caused by careless debris burning and escaped yard debris burns, which is the leading cause of wildfires across the state each year, Jackson said. The other 1% of uncontrolled fires are caused by natural ignition such as lightning.

“Fire activity has remained low over the last few weeks due to tropical storms and other rain events. However, as is the case most year’s during the month of October, we expect October to dry out some over the coming weeks, increasing fire activity,” Jackson said Wednesday.

Assistant State Climatologist Corey Davis told Coastal Review that there are three main components that each make for ideal wildfire conditions in eastern North Carolina: the time of year, the weather, and the ecosystem.

From late February through mid-April, grasses and other vegetation are coming out of their winter dormancy. Before the vegetation becomes fully green, they’re still pretty dry and flammable.

Deciduous trees are budding during this time, as well. But again, before the leaves have fully emerged, the leaves and trucks are fairly flammable. Without those leaves, they don’t offer as much shade for the vegetation beneath them, which helps it dry out even more, Davis explained.

These circumstances lead to the weather component.

“Warm and sunny days during the spring can cause environmental conditions to dry out more quickly, and as we receive more direct sunlight throughout the season, that can also cause fast-drying conditions in our forest fuels, which includes that not-yet-green vegetation and any dead woody material or litter covering the ground,” Davis said.

In addition to having those summer-like characteristics such as hot days with lots of sunshine, the spring is ultimately a transition season, and one feature of the winter climate that can carry over into the spring is lower relative humidity. “When we get one of those less humid air masses in place during the spring, especially after a warm period, then those dry fuels can be especially crispy and ready to burn,” Davis explained.

Last, there are a few different types of ecosystems in eastern North Carolina where we typically expect to see wildfires. Much of the southern and central coastal plain was once covered by native wiregrass pine savannas, where fires are a natural and common feature, happening every two to five years.

At low intensity, these fires are beneficial since they clear out competing vegetation and thin out the canopy so that native species like Carolina wiregrass and longleaf pines can thrive.

“Over the past century or so, the prevalence of these longleaf pine ecosystems has drastically declined across the region, Davis explained. This is because the trees were cut down initially for timber and naval stores such as tar, pitch, and turpentine, and more recently because of conversion to agricultural lands and other development.

“Where we do still have wiregrass ecosystems, the longleaf pines have been replaced by less fire-tolerant species such as loblolly, so fires may not be as effective. Historical fire suppression in these areas means that more fuels have built up within them, so when they burn now, it tends to be at higher intensity, which is both less beneficial and more likely to become difficult to control or contain,” Davis said.

The other major fire-prone ecosystems in eastern North Carolina are the pocosins near the coastline in places like the Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge in Hyde, Tyrrell and Washington counties.

“These are fairly low-lying areas where the water table is usually very high, often submerging the soils and creating a peat swamp sort of environment. But during times of drought, the water table drops and that highly organic soil dries out, which makes it very easy to burn,” Davis said.

These types of wildfires are tough to contain because of how remote and inaccessible many of these locations are, and because the fire can burn into the ground and consume the soil itself.

“There’s no easy way to extinguish them except for flooding the soil with as much water as possible or waiting for help from the rain so the water table rises again. Until that happens, these fires can burn and smolder for weeks or months, all while releasing lots of smoke that can be carried by the winds to different corners of the state,” Davis said.

“For those reasons, these pocosin areas have historically seen our state’s largest wildfires, and continue to be an area of concern any time there’s a springtime dry spell,” such as the April 2023 fire in the Croatan National Forest.

“Putting all of that together, the perfect conditions for wildfires in eastern North Carolina would be in late March or early April following a month or so of unseasonably warm and dry weather.”

Davis continued that with vegetation either dormant, dead or not green just yet, the environment would be highly flammable.

“The spark for fires could come from human activity like debris burns, or on a larger scale from lightning strikes along a strong cold frontal passage. Behind that front, a dry and less humid air mass would move in, and gusty winds would spread any newly ignited fires quickly across the landscape,” he said.

By late September, “these same trends from the spring happen again, but in reverse. Our temperatures can remain relatively warm well into October, and once trees drop their leaves, they ramp up the fuel loading at the surface,” according to the climate office.

So far in 2024, the Forest Service has responded to more than 3,500 wildfires for roughly 13,000 acres, Jackson with the Forest Service said.

The 2023 fall wildfire season was extremely active with nearly 2,000 wildfires statewide, more than 1,200 of which burned in November 2023 alone, Jackson said. “That was during our traditional fall wildfire season where fire risk is elevated, but we had also experienced prolonged drought conditions for much of the fall last year.”

“This is consistent and on pace with what we typically see each year. We usually experience between 4,500 and 5,500 wildfires annually. Frequency and duration are heavily influenced by weather conditions and time of year,” Jackson said, adding that over the last two months, “we’ve seen 119 wildfires for less than 50 acres. That’s considered to be rather quiet in terms of new wildfire starts and minimal acreage, largely due to the amount of rain our state has received recently.”

Jackson said that there’s a common misconception that wildfires are only an issue in the Western United States.

“The American South experiences more wildfires each year than any other region in the U.S.,” Jackson said. “While wildfires in the Western U.S. tend to be more severe while consuming larger chunks of acreage, wildfires in the Southeast U.S. are becoming more common.”

North Carolina had the third most wildfires nationally in 2022, behind only Texas and California. That same year, Texas, California, North Carolina, Georgia and Oklahoma accounted for nearly half of the total wildfires in the U.S.

The wildland-urban interface a big reason why. The wildland-urban interface, or WUI, is where development meets forestland. Three of the top four states with the most homes in the wildland urban interface are states located in the South, with North Carolina in the lead.

“North Carolina remains the leading state in the U.S. relative to number of acres in the wildland urban interface. As North Carolina’s population continues to grow, we’ll likely see more people living and recreating in the wildland urban interface,” Jackson said. 

With almost all wildfires in the state correlating with human activity, as the population increases, more people living and recreating in the wildland urban interface, potentially resulting in an increase in the number of wildfires our state experiences.

Statewide, between 2010 and 2020, 41,551 wildfires burned 399,125 acres, and from 1990 to 2010, North Carolina saw an increase of 3,005,048 acres in the wildland-urban interface.

“North Carolina’s WUI Risk Index estimates 2.3 million acres are at risk for moderate to major impacts from wildfires to people and their homes,” Jackson said.

For the first time in a two years, the entire state is free of drought or abnormally dry conditions.

The consistent and heavy showers in April has led to a clear drought map since May 4 on the U.S. Drought Monitor for all 100 counties, according to the North Carolina Drought Management Advisory Council.

“This is the first time the state’s drought map has been clear of any drought and dryness in more than two full years – since April 13, 2021,” said Corey Davis, N.C. Assistant State Climatologist and council member, in a statement.

This year’s dry March led to the entire central and eastern areas to be considered abnormally dry or in moderate drought but the regular, heavy rains in April improved conditions.

Heavy rains during the last two weeks helped to return to the normal range, according to the climate office.

In the last two years, North Carolina has experienced several periods with more than 80% of the state having conditions ranging from abnormally dry to severe drought.

The variables that determine drought are rainfall, streamflow, groundwater levels, climate, the amount of water storage in reservoirs, soil moisture, and the time of year.

“The seasonal forecasts call for near-normal to above-normal rainfall for much of the southeastern U.S. through mid-summer,” said Barrett Smith, Senior Service Hydrologist with the National Weather Service in Raleigh.

“Longer-range prospects for normal to above-normal rainfall are also favorable through the fall and winter months given the expected development of El Nino conditions, which favor more active weather patterns and wetter conditions across the southeastern U.S. These are, however, seasonal averages, and there will certainly be periods of drier than normal conditions at times,” Smith added.

The council is a collaboration of drought experts from various government agencies in North Carolina, Virginia and South Carolina, and organized by the state’s Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Water Resources.

Members of the council meet weekly and submit their drought condition recommendations to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the National Drought Mitigation Center for updates to the U.S. Drought Monitor.

The Drought Management Advisory Council considers impacts to the environment when it recommends changing conditions to the state’s drought map. These conditions are closely monitored and can rapidly change, especially during the hot summer months, which bring about higher evaporation rates.

A map of the nation’s drought conditions is released at 9 a.m. every Thursday. To view North Carolina’s drought map, visit www.ncdrought.org. To view the U.S. drought map, visit http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/.

NOAA has recently developed a drought/climate page for each state, including North Carolina, with facts, statistics, forecasts and other drought-related data.                                                                        

Like more than half of the state, 19 of the 20 coastal counties are experiencing severe drought conditions.

These severe drought conditions that cover more than half of the state are after another dry week added to precipitation deficits over the past three to six months and conditions may remain through winter, according to the North Carolina’s Drought Management Advisory Council’s Tuesday update, the most recent advisory. Conditions are based on factors including streamflow, groundwater levels, reservoir levels, soil moisture and fire danger.

Severe drought is the second category of the four drought classifications based on the U.S. Drought Monitor.

Coastal counties under the severe drought classification are Beaufort, Bertie, Camden, Carteret, Chowan, Craven, Currituck, Dare, Gates, Hertford, Hyde, New Hanover, Onslow, Pamlico, Pasquotank, Pender, Perquimans, Tyrrell and Washington. Brunswick County is in moderate drought.

“Much of the state has been in a dry pattern over the past three to six months, with generally above-normal temperatures and few to no tropical systems bringing widespread rainfall relief,” said Corey Davis, assistant state climatologist with the North Carolina State Climate Office, in a statement. “The dryness has been especially pronounced since early October. Less than one inch of rain fell in most areas last month. It’s the driest November in 90 years in North Carolina.”

The advisory council publishes the drought map every Thursday morning, which is updated and submitted on the Tuesday before to be included in the U.S. Drought Monitor.

Any rainfall that occurs after 8 a.m. Tuesdays is factored into the next week’s map.

The rain this week is not expected to make much impact on the drought status since it may only provide up to 1 inch, the normal amount expected for this time of year, according to the council. The gradual deficit in October and more extreme shortfall in November has resulted in many areas being 4 to 7 inches below normal over the last three months. 

Advisory council officials said current conditions and forecast models, which reflect the warm, dry conditions that a La Nina weather pattern often brings, could lead to drought conditions continuing through the winter months.

Last May, parts of of six counties were briefly classified as severe. Before that, there was severe drought in October 2019.