As we have settled into a dry pattern across the Commonwealth, with some portions of the viewing area in the moderate drought status, worsening drought conditions are at the forefront of many people’s minds, especially during fall fire season. We talked to Cory Swift of the Virginia Department of Forestry about what you need to know.
Wildfire season in Southwest Virginia begins on October 15 and runs through the end of November. Fall fire season brings an increased risk due to certain weather conditions.
“More windy weather, really low humidities and those conditions really allow wildfires to spark easily,” said Swift.
Cory says that the number one cause of wildfires in Virginia is escaped debris burns. This is what you can do to keep everyone safe this wildfire season.
Avoid debris burning if you can, and instead compost your yard debris or stack it somewhere on their property. Wildlife will utilize stacked debris as cover. But if you absolutely must burn, we are actually asking that you wait until December, after we get out of this fire season when conditions are less dangerous.
While Helene did provide a lot of needed precipitation, the storm also downed many trees. The increased wooded debris brings an increased fuel source for the fall fire season, which is another reason why it is necessary to be aware of this season’s fire risk.