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Spring Forest Fire Season Starts March 1
Beginning Monday, March 1, outdoor-burning restrictions will be in effect through May 31. Between 7 a.m. and 4 p.m., no outdoor burning will be permitted permitted.
Year-round requirements for burning outdoors include the following:
* A safety strip of at least 10 feet must be placed around burning materials. To prevent wayward sparks from igniting a forest fire, the strip must be cleared down to the mineral soil.
* Fires must be attended at all times and cannot be unattended until fully extinguished.
* A violation of any outdoor-burning restrictions may result in a misdemeanor charge, a fine of up to $300 and liability for costs of fighting the fire and the damage caused by the fire to property.
To find out more about West Virginia's fire laws,
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- 2008 - 889 fires burned 13,151 acres
- 2007 - 849 fires burned 7,122 acres
- 2006 - 1,022 fires burned 17,608 acres
- 2005 - 757 fires burned 12,436 acres
- 2004 - 632 fires burned 6,022 acres
- 2003 - 669 fires burned 8,370 acres
- 2002 - 959 fires burned 10,024 acres
- 2001 - 887 fires burned 86,465 acres
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CAUSES OF WILDFIRES IN WEST VIRGINIA
In 2008, the majority of wildfires was caused by people and their carelessness. People who allowed debris fires to escape into the surrounding woods caused 35% of the fires; people who deliberately set fires (arson/incendiary) caused 26%; and people using equipment near or in the woods caused another 19% of all forest fires. The other 20% of forest fires in West Virginia was caused by campfires, children, smokers, and railroads. Some of that 20% were attributed to miscellaneous causes and lightning, and others are still under investigation.
ABOUT THE WILDFIRE CONTROL PROGRAM
The DOF's top priority has always been and continues to be protecting the State's forest resource from the ravages of wildfire. At the turn of the 20th century, wildfires devastated West Virginia's forests. In 1908, more than 1.7 million acres of forestland were destroyed by fire. As a result of this devastation, the West Virginia Reform Law of 1909 was established to protect the State's only renewable resource, the forest. Today the DOF is responsible for protecting nearly 12 million acres of forestland across West Virginia.
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