(The Center Square) – Isolated rain showers Tuesday and scattered showers with a chance of storms on Wednesday are offering relief to North Carolina’s burning wildfires and agriculture crippling severe drought.
With a need of 10 inches or rain or more over most of the state, says the Agriculture Department, the two-day window will hardly extinguish the risk of wildfires.
“While the rainfall we received over the weekend was a welcome sight, it offered little to no relief from widespread drought conditions while being nowhere near enough to reduce our wildfire risk,” said Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler, referencing areas getting anywhere from a trace to half-an-inch of rain. “Even the areas that received the heaviest amount of rain will quickly dry out from the sunshine and warmer temperatures. Until we get some additional rain and see more green-up in our forests, holding the burn ban in place statewide is the best option right now.”
Troxler said excessive forest fuels from downed timber by Hurricane Helene is more available today than in 2025. The Piedmont had 87 new wildfire starts over the weekend.
From Murphy to Manteo, an outdoor burning ban has been in effect since March 28. The North Carolina Forest Service has since responded to 1,200 wildfires burning nearly 3,500 acres, only five of which were caused by lightning strikes.
Authorities have issued 287 citations.
Extreme drought conditions have grown from 22.3% to 38.1% in North Carolina over the past seven days, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor update released Thursday. A minimum designation of severe drought is covering 95% of the state – same as a week ago.
Major wildfires are active at the coast, in the mountains and in the southeastern part of the state. Two are in the mountains of Jackson County.
The Black Cove Fire and Deep Woods Fire are each at more than 3,000 acres with rugged, challenging areas of terrain.
The Whitehall Plantation Fire in Pender County has burned about 275 acres.
In Croatan National Forest, the Pettiford Creek Fire has burned about 190 acres since being reported on Friday in Carteret County.
Agriculture and agribusiness are a $102 billion annual economic impact for the state, according to December figures. April is a prime planting season for corn, and late April to early May is the time for soybeans and cotton – though the state’s eastern farmers are often one to two weeks earlier.
Agriculture and agribusiness have been the state’s No. 1 industry forever. About 42,500 farms are operated on 8.1 million acres from Murphy to Manteo. The state is eighth in the nation in value of agricultural products sold, 14th in exports.
North Carolina production is No. 1 nationally each in sweetpotatoes, all tobacco, flue-cured tobacco, and poultry and eggs. The state is No. 2 in Christmas tree sales, production of turkeys, and food-size trout sold. It is No. 3 in cucumbers and hogs, No. 4 in peanuts and broilers (chicken), and No. 5 in cotton.
