JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) – Officials with the Mississippi Forestry Commission (MFC) said parts of Mississippi are experiencing an abnormally dry period.

State Forester Russell Bozeman said this is the time of year the state begins to see a fall drought pattern. He said there has been an increase in wildfire activity in the state. Since Friday, August 16, there have been nearly 68 wildfires.

Bozeman said the state is still seeing the effects from the 2023 drought, and it’s affecting the state’s trees.

“A lot of the forest is still a little stressed from the drought we were in last year. So, we’ve seen a lot of forest health issues since the drought last year. So all this year, we’ve dealt with with beetle problems, caterpillar problems, fungus problems, all kinds of forest health issues that we’ve been seeing out in the forest. And so, the trees are already stressed. So if we end up into an extended drought period, then we could continue to see tree and tree health issues,” he explained.

Bozeman said the MFC has started to receive requests for burn bans from counties across the state. He encouraged people to continue checking the MFC website to see if their county is under a burn ban.