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24 Counties in Arkansas placed under extreme wildfire risk

By:  Max Hoener

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (UATV) – Washington County, along with 23 other counties in Arkansas, were placed under “extreme” wildfire risk by the Arkansas Forestry Division.

The designation comes after Washington County has not seen any rainfall for over a month. The last day that Fayetteville received any precipitation was September 24, over one month ago. 

According to Wesley McKinney, Arkansas’s fire management officer, Washington and Benton Counties are especially in danger of wildfires.

“The epicenter of the droughts is in Washington and Benton counties,” said McKinney. “They haven’t seen rainfall, and there was frost. That’s available fuel for a fire for at least the next few days.”

The recent frost may sound like good news, since it would appear that cold grounds would weaken the fires, but the opposite is true. Frosts actually lower humidity and dry the ground even further, increasing the risk for wildfires. Fayetteville has also seen high winds, meaning a wildfire could grow rapidly if anything caught on fire.

Washington County officials predict the extreme wildfire risk to stick around for awhile.

“Right now if it rains, as dry as the ground it, it won’t even soak the rain up,” said county officials. “We are going to stay in extreme wildfire danger until we get a significant amount of rain.”

Fires have been popping up along Interstate 49 during the drought, but nothing has sparked into a full-blown wildfire. 

On October 8, a grass fire broke out in Springdale near the Elm Springs exit on I-49, and firefighters had to evacuate the area to put it out.

Photo Courtesy: Arkansas Department of Transportation. Springdale, AR. October 8th, 2024

Just days before on October 4, a grass fire broke out off I-49 Northbound in Bella Vista, which blocked traffic while emergency crews put out the fire. 

Photo courtesy: Arkansas Department of Transportation. Bella Vista, AR. October 4th, 2024.

The weather ahead could bring some relief from the drought and lower wildfire risk. On Wednesday, there is the possibility for rain with severe storms, and rain chances are currently above 55% for four straight days from Saturday to Tuesday. 

Humidity is also expected to rise over the weekend, with forecasts predicting percentages as high as 95% on Saturday night. 

Until Arkansas sees significant rainfall, crews are focused on making sure any fire that breaks out is contained quickly.

“If a fire starts, it has the potential to be extremely dangerous,” said McKinney.

UATV News will continue to monitor drought conditions and wildfire danger in Fayetteville.