CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The fall burning season ends Tuesday but there are some outdoor burning rules that remain in effect all year long.
West Virginia Division of Forestry spokesperson Leslie Smithson said no matter what time of year it is residents cannot leave outdoor fires unattended.
“When you start a fire you have to stay with the fire until it is completely extinguished and you also have to have the safety strip in place around anything that you are burning,” she said. “Besides the law, that’s just good commonsense.”
Smithson said the Division of Forestry investigated approximately 137 fires in the fall season that burned 2,100 acres.
“That is a lot less than we’ve seen in previous seasons,” she said.
The damp fall helped according to Smithson but the Division of Forestry spends a lot of time and effort on educating the public about the burning rules. Smithson said that appears to be paying off.
“We hope people are taking our message to heart. We’re getting that message out that fires are prevalent during the spring and the fall and people are hopefully listening and being more careful with fire,” she said.