A continuation of the dry weather pattern and only a slight chance of rain forecast for later this week have forestry officials concerned that the threat of wildfire danger will remain high in the state for several days.
County judges in 34 Arkansas counties have now issued burn bans, meaning they consider the burning of debris, brush and trash dangerous because of low humidity, winds and drying vegetation.
Most of the counties in the southern half of the state -- Calhoun County being a rare exception -- are under burn bans, and portions of north-central Arkansas also prohibit burning.
The Arkansas Forestry Commission also considers the southern half of the state to be "high" for wildfire danger and urges residents to refrain from burning anything.
"It's very dry," said Polk County Forest Ranger Jerry Huff. "But people are very cautious with burning. They notice when it's a bad time to burn."
Despite prevalent weather conditions that heightened the fire danger last weekend -- low humidity, winds and dry vegetation -- fires remained sparse, said Arkansas Forestry Commission spokesman Adriane Barnes.
The commission reported that 19 wildfires burned 209 acres during the weekend in south Arkansas.
On Tuesday, five fires covered 45 acres, she said.
"Everything was in place this weekend for fires, but 209 acres burned was not that scary," Barnes said. "There's nothing else to contribute to the lack of fires but people's awareness of the dangers."
Humidity levels are slowly climbing again, which helps abate the threat of fire somewhat. However, the higher temperatures that are entering the state will dry out vegetation more and offset some of the benefits of that rising humidity, she said.
National Weather Service meteorologist Charles Dalton said any chance of rain this week is diminishing daily.
Forecasters expect a front to enter the state from the north Friday, bringing a 20 percent to 30 percent chance of rain to northeastern Arkansas by nightfall. As that system pushes farther into the state, the system will weaken, Dalton said.
"It's losing steam," he said. "This system is getting progressively drier as it moves in."
Temperatures are expected to reach near 90 degrees in south Arkansas on Thursday and Friday. Winds are predicted to be 5-10 mph over the weekend, Dalton said.
"There's no real relief in sight," he said. "We're not going to meet red flag criteria with strong winds, but there is no real rain ahead. Things are going to continue to dry out."
State Desk on 10/07/2015