Grass fire in Crane Hill community on Sunday (photo supplied by reader Mary Laskody)
Updated 11/14/16 at 8:18 a.m.
At this time all fires within Cullman County are contained. Residual smoke is still present from fires outside of the county.
Updated 11/13/16 at 6:15 p.m.
CULLMAN COUNTY – Smoke is still filling the air in Cullman County this evening, as large fires in Georgia, Tennessee, the Talladega National Forest, Oneonta (Blount County) and Empire (Walker County) continue to burn at the time of this report (5:27 p.m.)
Cullman County Fire and EMS Dispatch has just confirmed that, in addition to the fires in surrounding areas, there are two active fires in Cullman County.
One fire is in the 1000 block of County Road 362 in the Logan community, and has been burning since approximately 3 p.m.
The second is near Bethsadia on County Road 436, where a grass fire in a residential yard is beginning to spread.
Dispatch confirmed that there have been small grass fires in Cullman County on and off Sunday, but that other than the two mentioned above, they have all been contained.
The National Weather Service (NWS) in Huntsville has issued an Air Quality Alert for Madison and Morgan Counties:
"Air Quality Alert in effect until midnight tonight due to smoky conditions. See: ow.ly/G7ho3067T7R. Conditions will be unhealthy for sensitive groups. Children and people with asthma are at the highest risk under these conditions."
At 6:02 p.m., the NWS issued a special weather statement for multiple counties, including Cullman:
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL 602 PM CST SUN NOV 13 2016
ALZ005>010-016-140500- LIMESTONE-MADISON-MORGAN-MARSHALL-JACKSON-DE KALB-CULLMAN- INCLUDING THE CITIES OF…ATHENS…HUNTSVILLE…DECATUR… ALBERTVILLE…BOAZ…GUNTERSVILLE…ARAB…SCOTTSBORO…FORT PAYNE… RAINSVILLE…CULLMAN 602 PM CST SUN NOV 13 2016 …
SMOKE WILL RESULT IN VISIBILITY REDUCTIONS ACROSS MUCH OF NORTH CENTRAL AND NORTHEAST ALABAMA THIS EVENING…
SMOKE FROM WILDFIRES BURNING ACROSS NORTH GEORGIA AND SOUTHEAST TENNESSEE WILL LEAD TO VISIBILITY REDUCTIONS IN NORTH CENTRAL AND NORTHEAST ALABAMA THIS EVENING. ALTHOUGH VISIBILITY WITHIN THE AREAS OF SMOKE WILL GENERALLY BE IN THE 3 TO 5 MILE RANGE…A FEW LOCATIONS MAY EXPERIENCE REDUCTIONS DOWN TO 1 MILE. IF CONDITIONS CONTINUE TO DETERIORATE…A DENSE SMOKE ADVISORY MAY BE ISSUED LATER THIS EVENING. MOTORISTS ARE URGED TO USE CAUTION IF SMOKE IS ENCOUNTERED WHILE TRAVELING THIS EVENING.
The NWS says the smoke will leave the area on Monday, but conditions will remain dry.
All residents are reminded that the entire state of Alabama is under a No Burn Order.
Copyright 2016 Humble Roots, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
