Virginia – Virginia Department of Forestry said this fall fire season was one for the books.
159 wildfires that burned almost 25,000 acres, above average for this time of year. Over the last 10 years, the average number of acres burned is 2,500.
While the fall fire season is over, some counties like Bedford County just extended their burn ban to December 11th.
“Many parts of Virginia are still in a drought and the wildfire risk is going to remain elevated until that drought is lifted and so you’re going to see some counties that are keeping those burn restrictions in place, and we are all for that because it decreases the chance for more wildfires to start,” Cory Swift, PIO for Virginia Department of Forestry said.
Bedford county tells us they will go out to an illegal burn to warn and educate the individual, but if it is a repeat offense, like relighting a fire after being asked to extinguish it, you could be written up for a citation.