The other morning i woke up, stepped outside, and was immediately was hit with the smell of fire. After being in a burn ban for like a month, it set off alarm bells in my head. A normal year I wouldn't think twice, I live in a rural area and people burn their yard trash all the time; in fact I've been waiting for the ban to be lifted so i can burn the invasives I have to cut down every year. But we've been horribly dry. Even the native plants have needed a little extra help. So of course i check online and there are both wildfires in my state (some close by) and in neighboring states. I believe the smoke i was smelling was from the Brantley county fire in southeast georgia.
This dryness concerns me not only for the risk of wildfires, but also for the coming hurricane season and summer heat. Humitidy is currently sitting at 29%, which is low for my area. I mean, everyone in the US knows how swampy the Southern US is, but the swampyness is a necessity. Last year we had at least a week with 100+ degree (F) days, and less rain means more heat at the peak of summer- and when it hits 105-110 degrees (F) it's miserable. It sucks when it stays in the 90s (F) all night. We aren't without hope though, a strong El Nino is predicted, so we should get rain later in the season, it's just a matter of waiting. I'm only concerned with what will happen while we wait.