Fall 2016 wildfire season ends
Published 12:15 pm Thursday, December 8, 2016
The 47-day fall wildfire season in Virginia ended at midnight Nov. 30 with some much-needed rain across most of the commonwealth. Virginia Department of Forestry (VDOF) crews responded to 172 wildfires that burned a total of 5,501 acres on privately-owned land from Oct. 15 through Nov. 30. Firefighters protected 412 homes and other structures, but four homes and 22 other structures were damaged.
“With drought conditions, warm temps, low humidity and high winds, we dealt with a number of difficult fires this fall,” said John Miller, VDOF’s director of fire and emergency response. “Southwest Virginia was the area with the most wildfire activity; was forced to deal with a tremendous amount of smoke from wildfires in Kentucky, Tennessee and North Carolina, and experienced a rash of arson fires in several counties.”
Because of the wildfire risk, 29 counties and six towns/cities put burn bans in place. Lee, Rockingham and Smyth counties, along with the city of Staunton, rescinded their bans recently.
“Because these burn bans were implemented by county and municipal governments, those same government entities must rescind or cancel their bans,” Miller said. “The Virginia Department of Forestry did not put the burn bans in place and does not have the authority to rescind the bans put in place by local governments.”
VDOF investigators are still searching for suspects in the arson cases, and a reward of up to $2,000 is available for information leading to the conviction of the person or people responsible for the arson fires in Buchanan and Scott counties. Woods arson is the number two cause of wildfires in Virginia. It is a felony crime that could result in up to five years in prison, a fine of $2,500 as well as the cost of suppressing the resulting wildfire.
“We really need the public’s help to bring the arsonist or arsonists to justice,” Western Regional Forester Ed Stoots said. “Someone knows who intentionally set these fires, which put lives and property at risk. We want to hear from those in the know.