Crews putting out EKY forest fires continue to battle unfavorable weather

CLAY COUNTY, Ky. (WKYT) - Forest fires are still burning in eastern Kentucky.

The Kentucky Division of Forestry said, as of Friday morning, there were 18 active fires.

Since November 3, forest fires have burned nearly 33,000 acres. Firefighters have been battling tough weather conditions despite Friday’s rain.

“One significant challenge we have with the weather is how dry it is. Every time we have a storm system move in like we have today, we have increased wind. So even though we may have increased relative humidity, we also have increased wind so that offsets the advantage of increased humidity,” said Stephen Gabbard of the Kentucky Division of Forestry.

Crews from around the state and even states such as Idaho, Texas, and Minnesota continue to battle the flames.

“We were already having snow. We’ve got everything all winterized. I was due to be laid off last Tuesday, and they said, ‘no, you’re headed to Kentucky,’ so we unwinterized our truck and loaded up all our gear, and here we are,” said David Gould, a fire lead out of Minnesota.

Overall, everyone is hoping for some helpful weather soon to put an end to this.

“What we need to end it is a significant soaking rain for a couple days. At least you know an inch or two where we have that good soaking rain,” said Beth Williams of the Kentucky Division of Forestry.

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