Storm brings some relief to wildfire fighters

NOAA satellite image. Click here or on image for
more tracking and radar views of the storm's progress.
Tropical Storm Barry, which made landfall in north Florida and then downgraded to a tropical depression as it moved north along the eastern seaboard, gave a welcome hand to exhausted firefighters in southeast Georgia.

Between two and over six inches of rain fell across parts of eastern Georgia as of Sunday, 11 AM, according to the National Weather Service. More thunderstorms are expected, but not enough to put an end to the blazes which have torched almost 500,000 acres after a month's burning.

The 2007 hurricane season opened on June 1. But, 53-percent of people who live in areas expected to be affected this season just aren't ready with either an evacuation or a survival plan, according to this GPB report.

Wildfire haze reaches Columbus

A pall of light haze from the wildfires burning in southeast Georgia blew into Columbus and other distant areas of the state on Tuesday.

The National Weather Service in Atlanta reported that winds out of the south wafted the smoke into central and northern parts of the state.

The windblown haze, visible from the hills overlooking the downtown riverfront area during the morning hours, dissipated in the early afternoon.

An official at the state Environmental Protection Division recommended that the elderly, children and those with respiratory ailments remain indoors, according to the Ledger-Enquirer newspaper.