FEMA photo 

On average the DNR Forest Service responds to 29 wildfires during the entire month of September; in the past week alone they have responded to 24 wildfires that burned more than 68 acres of forest and fields.

Warm, dry conditions, high winds, low relative humidity, and lack of rainfall are all contributing factors. While open-air burning is legal in parts of Maryland, DNR is strongly encouraging homeowners not to do any outdoor burning until the state receives significant steady rainfall of one inch or more.

By DORCAS TAYLOR
Capital News Service    
    WASHINGTON – Maryland’s drought combined with falling autumn leaves could turn the state into a tinderbox this fall, state officials said.
    Already, counties along the Eastern Shore have had more fires this month, 35, than the entire state’s September average, 29. Statewide this month 55 fires occurred.
    And October and November traditionally have more wildfires than September, said Monte Mitchell, state fire supervisor with Maryland’s Department of Natural Resources Forest Service.
    October averages 34 fires statewide, while November’s average is 71, an average boosted by the 2001 drought when the state battled 340 fires that month.
    “People are the leading cause of fires in Maryland,” Mitchell said. Debris burning was to blame for 15 fires along the Eastern Shore this month; nine were arson and four were caused by children.
    While debris burning is legal in some counties, state officials are discouraging the practice until there is a significant amount of rainfall.
   “A good 1 to 2 inches of rain would greatly reduce the fire danger,” Mitchell said.
    The Keetch and Byram Drought Index measures on a scale from zero to 800 how dry conditions contribute to fires, with 800 indicating the maximum drought. In Maryland, most counties are between 501 and 600 and some Eastern Shore counties are above 600. Normally, Maryland’s index is between 300 and 400, Mitchell said.
     Four lightning fires, unusual in Maryland, are another indicator of the state’s dry conditions. Rain usually follows the lightning, dampening the

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