The area covered by and the intensity of the drought remain virtually the same today compared to a week ago. About 60 percent of the state, including all of northeast Georgia, is plagued by some degree of drought, ranging across the board in intensity from “exceptionally” dry to drought-free.
Our area, just as it was a week ago, is a mixed bag of “severe” and “moderate” conditions.
The drought is blamed for a rash of grass and woods fires across Georgia including one earlier this week in Habersham County that consumed an area estimated to covered 100′ x 100′. (See accompany picture from Habersham County Public Information Officer Rob Moore.) Another a couple of weeks ago burned around 40 acres. The largest reported such fire in Georgia occurred in the northwestern portion of the state. It consumed about 700 acres.
And the level of Lake Lanier is down another two-tenths of a foot to 1063.1, about eight feet below normal for this time of year and the lowest it’s been since 2017.