ROANOKE, Va. – Virginia has two different wildfire seasons. One is in the spring, and the other is in the fall. It usually runs through the end of November.
Driving along the Blue Ridge Parkway Monday, we could see why that’s the case. A lot of trees have begun shedding their leaves. Extra leaves on the ground provide extra fuel for fires to spread, much like we’ve seen recently in Craig County and in Pulaski County.
On average, the wind picks up in this part of Virginia during the month of November. This is similar to what we see in April and May.
Lastly, we are under a drought in parts of the Roanoke Valley, Lynchburg area, Blue Ridge Parkway and Highlands.
There isn’t a whole lot of rain in the forecast over the next several days either.
It’s all the more reason to be very careful with bonfires, campfires or burning brush. If those get out of control, fires can spread very quickly.