Wildfires Burn Across Florida and Georgia Amid Severe Drought

Large fires fueled by a record-breaking drought have destroyed homes and timber plantations in Florida and Georgia. The two states are experiencing an unusually severe and early start to the wildfire season. Officials expect the season to rank among the worst in decades.

Virtually all of Georgia and 94 percent of Florida are in a state of drought ranked by the U.S. Drought Monitor as severe or worse. Georgia and other Southeast states contain much of the nation's wood production in the form of timber plantations used for paper and lumber.

Research has found that timber plantations can be more flammable than native forests depending on how they are managed. That increased flammability trend has not yet appeared in the American Southeast. However, fires in the region are becoming more frequent according to research.

Scientists suspect the increase results from climate change.

In Georgia, two large wildfires have burned more than 50,000 acres combined and destroyed at least 120 homes. In Florida, fires have burned more than 120,000 acres and one fire claimed the life of a firefighter. In recent days a brush fire in the Everglades has spread rapidly, consuming more than 11,000 acres while threatening nearby neighborhoods.

The intensity of the drought has made this year's fires extremely dangerous and difficult to contain. The chief of forest management at the Georgia Forestry Commission, which oversees the state's forests and wildfire response, described the conditions.

>"We were seeing flames dozens of feet high. " — Troy Clymer, chief of forest management at the Georgia Forestry Commission (The New York Times) The Southeast's timber plantations supply significant portions of the nation's lumber and paper products.

The ongoing fires occur in an area known for its wood production, raising immediate concerns for local forestry operations.