By Associated Press
Birmingham, AL – The latest report from the Drought Monitor Survey has prompted the Alabama Forestry Commission to place 59 counties under a No Burn Order Thursday.
The order accompanied an emergency drought declaration for those counties. The declaration made by State Forester Linda Casey and approved by Governor Riley will remain in effect until further notice.
Only 8 counties are not affected by the order, but they are under a fire alert. Those counties are Mobile, Baldwin, Washington, Choctaw, Clarke, Conecuh, Escambia and Monroe counties.
Under the No Burn Order, all outdoor burning is prohibited.
A similar decree was issued before the July 4th holiday, but for a smaller region of the state. Various burn restrictions have been in place across the state since May 18th.
So far this month, 227 wildfires have burned 3,034 acres across the state. That's a 62 percent increase in average fire losses for the year.
(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)