KINGWOOD, W.Va. The National Weather Service has issued a special weather statement cautioning against the increased forest fire danger due to low humidity and wind gusts of up to 20 miles per-hour. In the higher elevations of Preston, Tucker, and Monongalia counties, wind gusts could reach up to 40 miles per-hour.
Assistant Director of Preston County 911 and the Office of Emergency Management Justin Wolfe said the conditions are right for a small controlled fire to become a large damage-causing event.
“Due to the drier conditions, it’s easy for small controlled fires to get out of hand, increasing problems for fire departments,” Wolfe said.
Fall burn season rules are in effect, making it illegal to conduct open burning from Oct. 1 through Dec. 31 from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. If property owners have permission to burn, all fall burn laws must be followed. Requirements like maintaining a 10-foot perimeter around the fire, keeping water and tools available to control the fire if it escapes, and completely extinguishing the fire when finished
“Even though they may be within the proper time to burn, it doesn’t mean it’s the right thing to do,” Wolfe said. “You’ve got to use common sense, and right now is not a good time to burn.”
As of Monday, the West Virginia Division of Forestry reported more than 100 forest fires statewide. Wolfe said the current conditions can lead to a serious fire emergency very quickly. Fall fire rules allow burning between 5 p.m. and 7 a.m., but Wolfe said the best thing to do is wait for conditions to improve.
“The relative humidity being lower, it’s less moisture that settles on the leaves that’s on the ground or the forest floor, and with the wind, it picks it up and dries it up even worse,” Wolfe said.
Wolfe also pointed out that the availability of some volunteers in rural areas during the day could cause a delayed response and, in turn, a much greater fire.
“We want to try to preserve those resources because they do a great job at what they do,” Wolfe said. “They’re just limited in manpower, especially certain hours of the day.”