With temperatures reaching 100 degrees on Thursday and drought conditions advancing each sunny day, Chattanooga-area residents may soon have another detail to sweat: forest fires.
The volatile combination of a seven-inch rain deficit for the year and a high-pressure system drying out the soil already has proved troublesome for North Georgia firefighters.
Earlier this week, one 10-acre fire burned for more than three days in Whitfield County before firefighters brought it under control with the help of bulldozers and helicopters.
Neal Pascal, a meteorologist at WRCB-TV, said the cycle of hot and dry winds that have plagued the East for the past two weeks is responsible for the hazardous conditions.
Relief may come this weekend when forecasters are predicting up to one inch of rain. Following that, temperatures should drop to about 89 degrees and stay around 90 degrees for all of next week, Mr. Pascal said.