CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The spring forest fire season came to a close this week, but the possibility of fire continues to exist.
“Starting on June 1st you can burn any time of the day. You are still required to stay with it the entire time. You’re required to have the minimum 10 foot safety strip around it. That’s what I would encourage the public is that if they do decide to burn during the summer months, especially July and August it gets very dry and we can have summer fires,” said West Virginia Division of Forestry Director Jeremy Jones.
During the duration of the spring burning restrictions, foresters and volunteer fire companies had their hands full. There were 691 separate fires across West Virginia from March 1 through May 31 and those fires scorched 8,164 acres. According to Jones that’s average to slightly above average for a year in West Virginia. The southern coalfields had the most fires of any region in the state.
“Seemed like the month of April we had a long stretch of dry weather, then thankfully we started getting some rain toward the end and that helped us out,” Jones said.
Debris fires were the top cause of forest fires, followed by downed power lines. Jones said about ten-percent of the fires were arson related and they have several investigations into arson charges still open. Arson is a felony and will result in jail time. Those responsible for debris burning face a misdemeanor charge and a fine. However, any damage caused by your fire is your responsibility and can get expensive. Plus the person burning debris has to pay the bill for the fire department to come out and put out the fire.
The fall burning restrictions will start October 1.