The lack of widespread persistent rainfall enabled the Honey Prairie Wildfire to resurrect itself across western portions of the Okefenokee Swamp. Portions affected included SE Clinch county.
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
The episode as NWS JAX wrote it up.
The lack of widespread persistent rainfall enabled the Honey Prairie Wildfire to resurrect itself across western portions of the Okefenokee Swamp. Portions affected included SE Clinch county.
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Jacksonville, FL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Sep 13, 8:40 AM EST, 1 hour 50 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSONVILLE FL 940 AM EDT TUE SEP 13 2011 .UPDATE...THE HONEY PRAIRIE WILDFIRE AND AN ADDITIONAL FIRE IN BAKER COUNTY WERE VERY ACTIVE YESTERDAY...AND IT SHOWS. VISIBLE IMAGERY AND METARS TELL THE STORY FOR TODAY WITH AREAS OF SMOKE AFFECTING A GOOD PORTION OF THE FORECAST AREA. VISIBILITIES HAVE BEEN DOWN TO ABOUT 1SM AT JAX SO FAR. CONTINUED TO INCLUDE THE SMOKE IN GRIDS AND ALSO ISSUED AN SPS. SOME OF THE SMOKE WILL LIFT WITH MIXING...WITH MIXING HEIGHTS UP TO 7-8 KFT EXPECTED. BUT FOR NOW...THE SMOKE WILL LINGER BELOW 2 KFT FOR AT LEAST A FEW HOURS FOR A LARGE AREA DOWNSTREAM. HIGHS TODAY WILL BE IN THE LOWER 90S...WITH THE DRY AIRMASS (PWATS 1.1 INCHES) AND STRONG SUBSIDENCE ALOFT MAINTAINING THE DRY FCST. && .AVIATION...LIFR AND MVFR VSBY DUE TO SMOKE AROUND JAX/CRG/VQQ THIS MORNING. SMOKE CONDS WILL IMPROVE THROUGH LATE MORNING. AT 16Z...BRIEF MVFR VSBY THEN VFR EXPECTED. && .MARINE...WINDS ARE W-NW AROUND 5-10 KT WITH SEAS OF 2-3 FT AT LOCAL BUOYS. WAVE MODELS SEEM TO BE OVERPLAYING THE SWELL COMPONENT AND WILL PROBABLY SHAVE OFF A FOOT OR TWO FROM THE FORECAST. THIS WILL ALLOW FOR THE SCEC FOR SEAS TO BE DROPPED FROM THE OFFSHORE FORECAST. RIP CURRENTS: MODERATE RISK DUE TO EAST SWELLS AND ACTIVE LONG SHORE CURRENTS. && .FIRE WEATHER...BASICALLY NO CHANGES TO THE FIRE WX FORECAST. MIN RH VALUES WILL FALL TO ABOUT 30% TODAY...PERHAPS A BIT LOWER INLAND AREAS. (PREVIOUS FORECAST)...MIN RH'S WILL FALL TO BELOW CRITICAL VALUES FOR LONG DURATIONS ACROSS THE INLAND AREAS BOTH THIS AFTERNOON AND WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON. HOWEVER...NO RED FLAGS ARE EXPECTED DUE TO LIGHT WINDS AND LOW ERC VALUES. RH'S WILL BE GRADUALLY INCREASING THE REST OF THE WEEK INTO THE WEEKEND. WINDS WILL REMAIN LIGHT THIS WEEK WITH AFTERNOON SEA BREEZES NEAR THE COAST. WINDS WILL BE INCREASING TO 15 TO 20 MPH WITH HIGHER GUSTS ALONG THE COAST THIS WEEKEND. && .JAX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... FL...NONE. GA...NONE. AM...NONE. && SHASHY/KEEGAN
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSONVILLE FL 955 AM EDT TUE SEP 13 2011 FLZ020>025-030>033-035>038-040-GAZ132>136-149>154-162>166-140900- ALACHUA-APPLING-ATKINSON-BACON-BAKER-BRADFORD-BRANTLEY- CAMDEN (COASTAL)-CAMDEN (INLAND)-CHARLTON-CLAY-CLINCH-COFFEE- COLUMBIA-DUVAL-ECHOLS-FLAGLER-GILCHRIST-GLYNN (COASTAL)- GLYNN (INLAND)-HAMILTON-JEFF DAVIS-MARION-NASSAU-PIERCE-PUTNAM- ST JOHNS-SUWANNEE-UNION-WARE-WAYNE- 955 AM EDT TUE SEP 13 2011 THIS OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHEAST FLORIDA AND SOUTHEAST GEORGIA. ...MODERATE RISK OF RIP CURRENTS AT AREA BEACHES... .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT... PERSISTENT EASTERLY SWELLS WILL CONTINUE AN ELEVATED RIP CURRENT RISK ALONG THE COAST TODAY. AREAS OF SMOKE FROM THE HONEY PRAIRIE FIRE WILL BE DIRECTED SOUTH AND SOUTHEAST AND AFFECT PORTIONS OF NORTHEAST FLORIDA MAINLY FROM DUVAL COUNTY TO COLUMBIA COUNTY. THOSE WITH RESPIRATORY PROBLEMS OR ARE SENSITIVE TO SMOKE MAY WANT TO STAY INDOORS UNTIL CONDITIONS IMPROVE IN THE AFTERNOON HOURS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY... AN ELEVATED RIP CURRENT RISK WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE END OF THE WEEK DUE TO PERSISTENT EASTERLY SWELLS. STRONG ONSHORE FLOW THIS WEEKEND WILL BRING INCREASED RAIN CHANCES TO COASTAL AREAS. LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL WILL BE POSSIBLE IN TRAINING CELLS. WINDY TO BREEZY CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED ALONG THE COAST. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT REQUESTED AT THIS TIME. FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION...VISIT THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN JACKSONVILLE WEBSITE ON THE INTERNET AT WEATHER.GOV/JAX.
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSONVILLE FL 913 AM EDT TUE SEP 13 2011 FLZ022>025-030>033-GAZ150-164-131600- BAKER-BRADFORD-CHARLTON-CLAY-COLUMBIA-DUVAL-NASSAU-ST JOHNS-UNION- WARE- 913 AM EDT TUE SEP 13 2011 ...SMOKE WILL IMPACT PARTS OF THE AREA... SMOKE FROM THE HONEY PRAIRIE WILDFIRE WILL AFFECT PARTS OF NORTHEAST FLORIDA THROUGH EARLY AFTERNOON...INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO TAYLOR...JACKSONVILLE...BALDWIN...FERNANINDA...ST AUGUSTINE...TO KEYSTONE HEIGHTS AND LAKE BUTLER. THE SMOKE WILL BE THICK AT TIMES... WITH VISIBILITIES REDUCED TO 2 MILES OR LESS ACROSS THESE AREAS ESPECIALLY IN THE MORNING HOURS. AREA ROADS THAT MAY BE IMPACTED INCLUDE INTERSTATES 10 AND 95...HIGHWAYS 301 AND 441. THOSE WITH RESPIRATORY CONDITIONS OR SENSITIVITY TO THE SMOKE INCLUDING THE ELDERLY...YOUNG CHILDREN AND PETS...SHOULD REMAIN INDOORS WITH AIR CONDITIONING AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE. OTHERWISE...TRY TO LIMIT YOUR EXPOSURE TO SMOKE BY STAYING INDOORS WHENEVER POSSIBLE AND KEEP WINDOWS CLOSED IN YOUR HOME. ARS
1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
The Honey Prairie wildfire had burned about 307,321 acres as of Sept. 13th. The fire was about 76 percent contained. On the 15th, the fire had burned about 308,780 acres. The fire has been burning since April 28, 2011.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Georgia in 2011Every state in 2011This day in weather historyWarnings in Georgia, September 2011
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 333747.