Fires in Floyd County were caused by a catalytic converter according to officials
Six months into a deepening drought, the unrelenting heat is dropping rivers and lakes to their lowest levels in years across much of the South. And in Rome, the water level at the confluence of the Oostanaula and Etowah rivers is so low that remnants of an old wharf are now visible.
The dry conditions also have contributed to a spate of grass and woods fires across Floyd County, including large fires that scorched more than 50 acres off U.S. 27 South this week.
According to a Georgia Forestry Commission press release:
A malfunctioning exhaust system on an automobile’s catalytic converter sparked the initial blazes on Tuesday.
“Despite some reports, the fires were not intentionally set, nor are they suspicious in any way,” said Brian Clavier, chief of law enforcement for the Forestry Commission.
Parts of the catalytic converter were recovered by investigators along Cave Spring Road, west of Darlington School.
Meteorologist Laura Belanger with the National Weather Service in Peachtree City said this drought really began early this spring when typical late winter rains did not materialize.
The Drought Index published each Thursday shows Floyd County and much of Northwest Georgia to be in an “exceptional drought.”
Belanger said over the last six months the National Weather Service has recorded just 11.75 inches of rain for Rome, whereas the normal is 23.55.
“So you basically are sitting right around 50 percent of normal,” she said.
This summer was particularly hot, as well as dry, with 90-degree temperatures day after day that evaporated what little moisture the soil had left, said Bill Murphey, Georgia’s state climatologist.
“We still had our popup summer thunderstorms, but for the most part were staying in a very dry environment through the summer,” Belanger said. “The fall tends to be our drier period of time anyway.”
“I don’t remember anything like this,” said Floyd County Extension Director Keith Mickler. “I’ve got long- term established plants that are showing major drought stress, and I don’t know if I can water them enough to get them through.”
Mickler said an inch of rain across an acre of land works out to 27,200 gallons of water. A large tree with a typical root system needs 650 gallons of water a week.
“That doesn’t happen with a little squirt from a water hose,” Mickler said.
South of Rome, the Tallapoosa River dropped below the intake the Haralson County Water Authority uses to provide water to Bremen, Tallapoosa, Buchanan and Waco.
If the drought persists, authorities said it could lead to wateruse restrictions that are common out West, but haven’t been seen in parts of the South in nearly a decade.
“Unfortunately, right now we’re not calling for any significant rainfall,” Belanger said. “It looks like there is a possibility of maybe seeing some rain on Friday, but even still it’s just a 20 percent chance.”
Belanger said any rain in that weather system would not amount to anything more than a tenth to a quarter of an inch.
While long- range forecasting is difficult, Belanger said the forecast gazing ahead into the winter months does not seem to provide much reason for optimism.
“We are expected to move into a La Nina (Pacific Ocean weather pattern) this winter. Unfortunately for us that typically ends up meaning that we have a warmer than normal winter and a drier than normal winter,” she said. “It is not the only deciding factor in our weather, but it is a large contributing factor.”
Mickler said it’s doubly important for farmers to make certain their irrigation systems are calibrated correctly. They need to get the correct amount of moisture on their fields while at the same time being cognizant of the amount of water they are withdrawing from the rivers, he added.
“Winter forage has not been able to be planted,” Mickler said. You can’t even get the drills in.”
The GFC is urging extreme caution when using any type of flame outdoors and burn permits have been suspended across Floyd, Bartow, Polk, Chattooga counties and other areas.