Smoke continued to hover over parts of the greater Chattanooga area Sunday as a nearly monthlong battle against drought-induced fires in the region continued with no signs of stopping.
WRCB-TV meteorologist Nick Austin said there is a slight chance of rain Wednesday but that it likely would not be enough rain to extinguish lingering fires like those that continued burning on Signal, Mowbray and Lookout mountains this weekend.
“If we do get anything, it’ll kind of be the last time a little bit of rain came through, when it turned out to just be sprinkles and that was it,” Austin said.
A fire in the Flipper Bend area of Signal Mountain, between Falling Water and Soddy-Daisy, grew to 65 acres by Sunday afternoon as state parks and forestry personnel worked to contain it.
The Air National Guard made water drops on the fire from a helicopter, and a plane from the U.S. Forest Service was expected to drop fire retardant over a portion of the fire by dusk, according to Hamilton County Emergency Services spokeswoman Amy Maxwell.