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I hope they get them contained. Sad they think arson is the cause.

Hasn't rained in like 12 weeks.  Smoke this week poured into Atlanta.

Looked like Beijing.

Nope.  Not better at all, and in fact, it's going to get worse before it gets better.  50% chance of showers early Saturday morning, but nothing widespread and not enough to do much about getting things under control.  After that, next "best" chance is 60% next Wednesday. 

Fires around here are still spreading.  But the wind has shifted, blowing most of the smoke away from the city- so at least there's that.  We're still under a "code red" air quality alert, but it's not nearly as bad as last week.

Not as bad in West Knoxville as earlier this week. Haze is not that bad and really looks clearer. Still way too dry. No rain in forever. Wildfires seem to be starting all around. Need a lot of rain showers for prolonged time.

this is really getting scary, y'all.

Tennessee has implemented a total ban on open fires in almost all of Middle TN and all of East TN. The Department of Agriculture clarified today that grills are okay, as long as they're confined and away from woodland areas...however, some areas have a ban even on grills. (The Big South Fork NRRA, for example, has banned everything except propane-powered devices.) Some municipalities are even discouraging people from building fires in their indoor stoves or fireplaces. It's safe to say this is the worst it's ever been in the modern era. As leaves continue to fall and dried-out undergrowth withers as we move into December, it's bound to get somewhat better, but that'll be the only thing making it better for the foreseeable future.

Looks like less than a quarter-inch of rain with this weekend's frontal boundary, so that'll be useless, as already mentioned. Next week's midweek system might be somewhat better, with closer to a half-inch of rain, but that's still not enough for long-term improvements. One of the most reliable forecast models this evening showed a strong storm system around Nov. 29-30. If something like that pans out, it could be the soaking rain this region needs. But the signals are hardly consistent for such a storm at this point.

The fires purposely set in N GA in Rabun county are about 20% contained -- BUT it jumped the fire break they had built and is now coming over the ridge toward my daughter-in-law's family home in the valley called Tate City --- my heart is breaking from all this destruction, especially those that were purposely set!     The AJC wrote a big article on Tate City yesterday -- it's really scary!