Though 4 pm burn law is ending, fire dangers are still present - WDBJ

ROANOKE, Va. (WDBJ) - Each year from February 15 to April 30, Virginians are only allowed to have open fires from 4 p.m. to midnight. Though that law is set to end, there are still worries about fire activity in the coming months.

“The dangers for wildfires escaping and burning is certainly not over because the calendar says it’s over,” said Brad Carico, regional forester for the Virginia Department of Forestry’s Western Region.

It’s been a busy fire season for the Virginia Department of Forestry, which started even before the burn law went into effect.

“We’ve seen fires nearly every week since the first of February. We actually started having significant fire activity before the fire season actually began.”

But for Roanoke County Fire and Rescue, it’s been a lot more quiet, and the majority of the brush fires they’ve responded to have not been caused by residents breaking the burn law.

“Really none of the brushfires were started by outdoor burning, like by people burning trash or anything like that,” said Brian Clingenpeel, community outreach coordinator for Roanoke County Fire and Rescue.

That’s a positive for Roanoke County Fire and Rescue, but something that continues to play a role for increased fire danger across southwest Virginia as a whole, is the weather.

“We could continue to have days that meet that weather criteria: where it’s dry, and it’s windy, and there’s low humidity and all of those things make for dangerous burning days,” said Clingenpeel.

“If the weather trends the way it’s been lately, we’re probably going to see significant fire activity even after the fire season is over,” said Carico.

Though the burn law is set to end, emergency responders continue to encourage residents to take all the precautions necessary when burning. While also warning there are hefty fines if a resident is found responsible for a brushfire.

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source: https://www.wdbj7.com/2022/04/30/though-4-pm-burn-law-is-ending-fire-dangers-are-still-present/

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