DRY CONDITIONS USHER IN SPRING FOREST FIRE SEASON - A No Snow Winter

(03/07/2017)

The unseasonably record high temperatures and little rainfall this winter has West Virginia Division of Forestry Director Randy Dye concerned about the spring forest fire season which began March 1. "You combine all those factors and it makes for a potentially bad, hazardous fire season," Dye said. The spring season will run through May 31. "Some parts of the state haven't had any snow at all; therefore, the leaves are drying and fluffy," Dye said. "That makes for prime fire conditions." The law bans outdoor burning from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Burning is allowed between 5 p.m. and 7 a.m. for vegetation such as brush, leaves and yard clippings. All fires must be extinguished by 7 a.m. Debris burning is allowed between 5 p.m. and 7 a.m., but Dye said "people need to use common sense." That's because debris burning, he said, has been the biggest cause of wild fires this year. "Eighty-three percent of the wildfires statewide were caused by debris burning. We've burned 600 acres by debris burning," he said.

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