Georgia and Florida droughts and wildfires are making them look like a California imitation. I wonder if the people in Georgia and Florida are starting to see Climate Change biting them?
Drought and fire are a dangerous duo. The Southeastern United States is witnessing this firsthand as several major blazes burn tens of thousands of acres across the parched region, destroying homes and prompting evacuations in some areas. Florida and Georgia have been particularly hard hit, and strong winds and unusually low humidity have made it difficult to combat the flames.
With much of the Southeast in a long-standing drought since July 2025, dried-out vegetation has provided ample fuel for wildfires to spread the minute they spark. That can even be something as small as a balloon hitting a power line, which is likely what ignited one of the largest fires tearing through Georgia this month, officials say.
Typically, forest managers ignite planned, controlled fires known as prescribed burns earlier in the season to clear this brittle brush. But this technique was on hold in certain areas amid the drought over concerns that small burns could quickly get out of control. Among this dried-out vegetation are the felled trees and branches left behind by Hurricane Helene in 2024, showing the lingering and compounding risks of climate disasters, experts say.
A Drought-Stricken ‘Tinderbox’
Throughout March, I reported on the widespread drought afflicting the Western U.S., which experts say could ramp up fire risk throughout the summer.
The situation in the Southeast is proof of that risk. Overall, fire is not uncommon during spring in the region, which technically has more blazes than any other part of the country in a given year, though many are small or planned for agriculture or prescribed burns. However, the current spate of wildfires stands out, experts say.
Vegetation Whiplash
As climate change accelerates, droughts in the Southeastern U.S. are expected to become more common, research shows. These warming and increasingly dry conditions “could reduce the window of time each year when forest managers can safely implement prescribed fire,” according to a 2025 report by the U.S. Forest Service.
Shifts from severe rain to drought can lead to rapid swings in extremes known as “weather whiplash.” This dynamic, in turn, can fuel a response from plants on the ground—what Lowman calls “vegetation whiplash.”
“You’ll get more plants growing after these hurricanes, and a lot of water, and so they become lusher and greener,” Lowman said. “And if that’s followed by an extreme drought, and, you know, conditions dry out, and then you’re left with even more wildfire fuel [and] potential to burn afterwards.”
At the same time, people are increasingly moving closer to this vegetation at the wildland-urban interface, where homes start to overlap with undeveloped land and forests. Given that humans cause the vast majority of wildland fires in the U.S. (remember the balloon?), their presence increases the likelihood of ignitions.
As the Southeast contends with wildfires raging through the region, communities out West are preparing for their own fire season after an historic snow drought. Though it’s difficult to flesh out the global warming connection with a single fire season, research shows it’s clear that compounding climate risks are setting the stage for more frequent and severe wildfires to burn in many areas.