Catawba County Forest Ranger David Wright spent all day Sunday and part of the evening going to one wildfire after another.  He said more than 40 acres of land in the county burned on Sunday alone.

“We were pretty much just leaving one fire to go to another,” he said.

On Thursday, N.C. Gov. Mike Easley reinstated the burning ban after a series of wildfires ignited sporadically across the state last weekend.

Despite recent rain showers, Wright said the area is still at risk for additional wildfires.  He said that’s why the burning ban was reinstated.

“They realized that we have the potential for a serious problem,” Wright said.

He said February and March are statistically proven to be the worst months for forest fires in Catawba County.  Wright said the county averages about 100 grass and woods fires a year, with an average of 30 occurring from Feb. 1 through March 31.

The reason for this, Wright said, is because everything is dry during the winter months from less rain and cooler temperatures, which makes vegetation more vulnerable to fire.

The January rainfall total was 1.11 inches, well under the 2.23-inch average for the month, according to Meteorologist Harry Gerapetripis with the National Weather Service.  He said February Hickory accumulated 1.72 inches of rainfall by Feb. 14.  February averages 3.87 inches of total rainfall.

He said particularly during this time of year when the state traditionally has more wind, the risk of wild fires can fluctuate day to day.  The North Carolina Forest Service has a readiness plan to gauge the risk of fires ranging from the lowest threat of 1, which would be rainy and wet conditions to the highest risk of 7 during extremely dry weather conditions.  Wright said this week began with a level 4 risk on Sunday, when the county was dealing with numerous wildfires, down to 1 on Monday and then up to 2 on Thursday.

“It wouldn’t surprise me if we got back to a 3 on (Friday),” Wright said.

He said when it gets up to 3 and 4, a power line sparking can start a fire and anything higher than 5 becomes really serious.

Conover Fire Chief Mark Hinson said windy days are enough to dry out the underbrush in a short amount of time.

“Those dry conditions — that’s when we get more fires and they can travel quick,” he said.

Hinson said it’s unfortunate that people don’t always heed the warnings of burning bans and some will burn their debris piles regardless.

Easley also signed an agreement with the Federal Emergency Management Agency that will enable North Carolina to seek federal assistance help pay the costs of fighting major fires.

“The agreement with FEMA is a pro-active step to get federal assistance in the event the state has an active fire season this spring,” he said in a written release.

“I know the burn ban is an imposition and creates hardship, but we have no choice until conditions improve.  It’s just not safe to burn, because of the drought conditions.”

To be eligible, costs incurred while fighting fires must exceed $491,000 for individual fires and $1.47 million for multiple fires.