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WILDFIRE PREVENTION AND CONTROL
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Safe Burning Tips
•Put debris in several small piles instead of one large one
•Never burn on dry, windy days
•Select a safe place away from overhead power lines, phone lines or other obstructions and where the fire cannot spread into the woods or weedy or brushy areas
•Clear at least a 10-foot area around the fire and make sure the area is clear of all burnable material
•Have water and tools on hand to extinguish anything that may escape the burn area
•Be conscientious of neighbors and don’t burn debris that produces a lot of smoke at times when smoke does not rise. If the smoke spreads out near the ground instead of rising, put out the fire and burn another time.
•Stay with the fire at all times until it is completely out. Leaving a fire unattended for any length of time is illegal.
•Call 911 immediately if a fire does escape
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- Fall 2012 - 295 fires burned 10,277 acres
- Spring 2012 - 434 fires burned 5,594 acres
- 2011 - 474 fires burned 5,709 acres
- 2010 - 766 fires burned 22,911 acres
- 2009 - 984 fires burned 14,973 acres
- 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 WILDFIRE IN WEST VIRGINIA
Through their carelessness, people cause the majority of forest fires in West Virginia. In the spring of 2012, 36% of all forest fires started from fires built to burn debris.
The second leading cause was incendiary or arson-related and accounted for 28% of all the fires in West Virginia. Equipment use rounded out the top three causes with 20%. The other 16% of fires are attributed to campfires, children, lightning or miscellaneous causes or are still under investigation.
ABOUT THE WILDFIRE CONTROL PROGRAM
The DOF's top priority is 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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