Latest on Wildfires Across Southeast

(AP)– As drought dries up forests across the South and with no sign of coming rain that might help put out dozens of major wildfires, the Tennessee Valley Authority has issued a burn ban on its public lands in seven states.
The TVA on Tuesday said the ban applies to anything that might produce an open flame, from campfires to smoking cigarettes. It’s even prohibited to park a car off-road where a hot tailpipe might light up dry grass or leaves.
The rules apply across Tennessee and in parts of Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina and Virginia.

Fire officials say the largest active wildfire in the South has now burned more than 19,000 acres in the north Georgia mountains – an area larger than New York’s Manhattan.

Alabama’s fire marshal says state officers are investigating two of nearly 1,100 statewide wildfires as possible arson.