Burning permits for outdoor burning of woody debris will be required again starting Oct. 15 as Tennessee’s fall wildfire season begins in earnest. The permit season will not end until May 16, 2013. This wildfire season follows a record-breaking drought across the state during which crops withered in the fields and vegetation dried to tinderbox conditions causing some counties to request and initiate outdoor burning restrictions in a cooperative effort with the Tennessee Department of Agriculture.“Although we’ve had some really good rains in recent weeks, we still want to keep in mind that it only takes a short period of time without rainfall particularly in the fall, when we begin having problems with wildfires once again,” said Jim Dale, assistant district forester with the division of forestry.