Gov. Deal bans fireworks in much of drought-stricken Georgia

ATLANTA - Due to the ongoing drought and risk of wildfires, Governor Nathan Deal has banned the ignition of fireworks in much of Georgia.

By executive order, Deal expanded a Level 1 drought declaration across 110 of Georgia's 159 counties, stretching across northern Georgia and including metro Atlanta.

The Level 1 declaration requires public water systems to inform customers about the dry conditions and encourage conservation, though it doesn't restrict water use.

The National Weather Service is forecasting that the drought will continue at least through early next year.

The Tennessee Valley Authority has also issued a burn ban on its public lands, including 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 23,000 acres in the north Georgia mountains -- an area larger than New York's Manhattan.

The U.S. Forestry Service says the Georgia blaze has now burned through more than half of the Cohutta Wilderness area and has crossed over the Conasauga River.

Fire managers say North Carolina's largest fire -- the Tellico Fire burning through the state's western mountains -- has charred about 13,700 acres, or about the same amount of land as the island of Bermuda.

The National Park Service has closed another section of the Appalachian Trail, which is now closed for several miles through parts of Georgia and North Carolina.

Forest Service spokesman Adam Rondeau has said the agency is tracking wildfires that have burned a total of 80,000 acres across the South.