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Two men charged with arson as crews make progress quelling 3 area blazes

By David Cobb, Steve Johnson November 16, 2016 10 min read

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Wildfires continue with no rain imminent

Two major fires burn at the Flipper Bend forest fire atop Walden Ridge in this view to the southwest from Montlake. The lights on the horizon, at left, is the Northgate Mall portion of Hixson. Crews from Tennessee State Parks, the Tennessee Department of Agriculture Forestry Division and U.S. Forestry Service personnel from the Bureau of Land Management were on scene as two Air National Guard BlackHawk helicopters sporadically dumped water on the expanding blaze.

A southbound pickup is dwarfed by the white smoke from the Flipper Bend fire late Tuesday in view of U.S. Highway 27, in Soddy-Daisy.

Volunteer firefighter's with the Sequoyah Volunteer Fire Department depart to work the Mowbray Mountain fire on Thursday in Soddy-Daisy.

Staff Photo by Dan Henry / The Chattanooga Times Free Press- 11/9/16. A aircraft from the US Forestry Service drops fire retardant on a wildfire burning along the Flipper Bend area of Signal Mountain on November 9, 2016. According to a Hamilton County Government release this morning over 780 acres have burned on Flipper Bend and another 230 plus acres on nearby Mowbray Mountain.

Tennessee burn ban

Counties under the regional burn ban proclamation are:AndersonBledsoeBlountBradleyCampbellCannonCarterClaiborneClayCockeCoffeeCumberlandDekalbFentressFranklinGraingerGreeneGrundyHamblenHamiltonHancockHawkinsJacksonJeffersonJohnsonKnoxLoudonMaconMarionMcMinnMeigsMonroeMorganOvertonPickettPolkPutnamRheaRoaneScottSequatchieSevierSmithSullivanTrousdaleUnicoiUnionVan BurenWarrenWashingtonWhite

Gov. Deal bans fireworks in much of drought-stricken Georgia

ATLANTA (AP) – Due to the ongoing drought and the risk of wildfires, Gov. Nathan Deal has banned the ignition of all fireworks in much of the state. News outlets report that Deal issued an executive order on Monday to expand a Level 1 drought declaration across 110 of Georgia’s 159 counties. The affected counties are across northern Georgia as well as all of the counties that make up metro Atlanta. The Level 1 declaration requires public water systems to inform customers about the dry conditions and encourage conservation, though it doesn’t restrict water use. WABE-FM reports the National Weather Service forecasts that the drought will continue at least through early-2017.

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Arkansas Symphony Orchestra @ Robinson Center Music Hall — 09/22

Safi Alsebai, Miriam Hauer-Jensen, Angela Wang and Nikoo Karbassi

Amanda Olivira, Orlando Riveros, August Marrs, Chrissie Elliott, Abbie Brown, Corey Barta and Greg Simmons

Wyatt Davis, John Dkdahl, Gus Powers and Gio Antipolo

Ashley Bachelder, Britney Sink and Jessi Rice

Raychl Reger, Jared Lincoln and Alex Forst

09/22 — The Arkansas Symphony Orchestra kicked off its 2013-14 season with Tchaikovsky & Rite of Spring, with Philip Mann conducting and Martina Filjak on piano.

Wildfires ravage Southeast

Fire crews from around the nation are making progress to contain three wildfires in northwest Hamilton County that have contributed to the smoky haze that has engulfed the city for days.

Meanwhile, in Georgia, one large fire was still burning out of control on Lookout Mountain below Cloudland Canyon near the Alabama state line, but houses in the area were not damaged, fire officials said.