CURRENT SITUATION:
• The division responded to 18 new fires for 317 acres over the past 24 hour period.
o West Tennessee District – 1 fire for 1 acre
o Highland Rim District – 3 fires for 55 acres
o Cumberland District – 7 fires for 93 acres
o East Tennessee District – 7 fires for 168 acres

MAJOR FIRES:
o Flippers Bend (Hamilton) 1000 acres, 90% contained
o Poe Rd. (Hamilton) 300 acres, 15% contained
o Mowbray (Hamilton) 625 acres, 50% contained
o Smith Mt (Sequatchie) 960 acres, 100% contained
o Bench Bluff (Bledsoe) 1,400 acres, 100% contained
o Cliff Tops (Marion) 80 acres, 100% contained
o Neddy Mt (Cocke) 324 acres, 30% containment; 2 homes evacuated, several more threatened if lines do not hold, no structures lost; helicopter and air tanker drops are working to reinforce containment lines.

WEATHER OUTLOOK:
o Air quality not likely to improve over the next couple of days in the southeastern portion of Tennessee as winds are not strong enough to clear the smoke out.
o Next best chance of rain is Thursday through Friday for most of the state. Relative humidities expected to rise with the approach of that precipitation.
o Over the next few days, expect highs temperatures in the mid to upper 60s and lows in the upper 30s.

BURNING RESTRICTIONS:
* Bledsoe, Polk and Sequatchie counties were added to the list of counties under a Commissioner of Agriculture burn ban. This brings the total to 12 Tennessee counties: Bledsoe, Claiborne, Cumberland, Hamilton, Jefferson, Loudon, Marion, Monroe, Polk, Robertson, Sequatchie and Sevier. A violation of a burn ban is considered reckless burning and is punishable as a Class A misdemeanor which carries a fine of $2,500 and/or up to 11 months 29 days in jail.
* Counties not listed under the ban require a safe debris burning permit. For now, those permits are not expected to be issued until substantial precipitation is received. A violation of burning without a permit is punishable as a Class C misdemeanor which carries a fine of $50 and/or up to 30 days in jail.
* Current county burn bans, additional fire safety tips and wildfire information can be found on the TDA Division of Forestry’s wildfire prevention website at www.burnsafetn.org.