BREAKING NEWS
FSU coach Norvell tests positive for virus before Miami
Read full article: FSU coach Norvell tests positive for virus before MiamiHe released a statement Saturday, Sept. 19, 2020 saying he tested positive Friday. (AP Photo/Phil Sears, File)Florida State coach Mike Norvell has tested positive for COVID-19 and will not coach the Seminoles in-person this week as they prepare for Miami. Norvell released a statement Saturday saying he tested positive a day earlier but is feeling fine. In Tallahassee, Florida, deputy head coach Chris Thomsen is taking over Norvell's duties, but the first-year Florida State head coach said he still intends to contribute. Toledo coach Jason Candle and UCLA coach Chip Kelly tested positive earlier this year.
12 counties issue burn bans due to dangerous, dry conditions
Read full article: 12 counties issue burn bans due to dangerous, dry conditionsSOUTHWEST VIRGINIA - Twelve counties across Southwest Virginia have issued burn bans due to dangerously dry conditions. Chris Thomsen, with the Virginia Department of Forestry's, said the dry conditions go deeper than the ground's surface, so putting out fires is that much harder. "A bush hog will go out and the blade will strike a rock and it will spark a fire and you don't see that if it's not this dry," Thomsen said. As long as the drought doesn't let up, neither will the burn bans. "Sooner or later we'll be out of this, it just doesn't look like it's going to be anytime soon," Thomsen said.
Dry weather creates concern for forestry department
Read full article: Dry weather creates concern for forestry departmentROANOKE COUNTY, Va. - The Virginia Department of Forestry is reminding you to be very careful when burning anything right now. Much of Southwest Virginia is abnormally dry or in a drought. The Department of Forestry's Salem office has responded to three brush fires in the last four days. "We're seeing some fires we wouldn't otherwise see. The concerning part is what might be coming this fall when we would usually see fire after leaf fall in late October and November," regional forester Chris Thomsen said.