Critical Wildfire Risk For Millions Across US; South Carolina Gov. Declares Emergency Over Blaze

Meteorologists mark March 1st as the official start of meteorological spring across the Lower 48, signaling a seasonal shift toward warmer temperatures and stronger winds. With the change of season, forecasters are warning of elevated wildfire risks across the Southern states. 

The National Interagency Coordination Center, operating under the National Interagency Fire Center and overseeing federal wildfire response efforts, has released new fire risk outlook maps for the Lower 48. The maps show elevated fire risks across large portions of the Southeastern US and Texas through February.

The US Department of Agriculture and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, via US Drought Monitor, shows extreme droughts in the Southwest US, severe to moderate droughts in the Central US, and mild to severe on the East Coast. 

NASA's Fire Information for Resource Management System, which utilizes near real-time satellite data, shows wildfires burning across the Southeast, including in states such as the Carolinas, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Texas.

On Sunday, South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster declared a state of emergency as 163 wildfires burned about 5,400 acres. 

The good news is that meteorologists say the high-pressure system boosting warm temperatures and low humidity, ripe for wildfires, will be pushed out of the Southeast by a cold front late Tuesday into Wednesday.