On Tuesday morning with a Keetch-Byram Drought Index (KDBI) ranging 50-100 points above normal in Madison County, Board of Supervisor Chair Carlton M. “Carty” Yowell and County Administrator Jonathon Weakley jointly declared a Declaration of Fire Prohibited.
A product of the U.S. Forest Service (KBDI) assesses the risk of fire by representing the net effect of evapotranspiration and precipitation in producing cumulative moisture deficiency in deep duff and upper soil layers.
The index attempts to measure the amount of precipitation necessary to return the soil to full field capacity. The index ranges from zero, the point of no moisture deficiency, to 800, the maximum drought that is possible, and represents a moisture regime from 0 to 8 inches of water through the soil layer…