The start of West Virginia’s annual spring fire season on Saturday, March 1, marks the return of burning restrictions.
The West Virginia Division of Forestry (WV DOF) reminds residents to con- fine outdoor burning to 5 p.m. to 7 a.m., according to West Virginia State Code Chapter 20-3-5. Fires set during that time must be put out before 7 a.m.
“Even though we have had a wet and snowy win
ter, it doesn’t take very long for our fuels to dry out. Since January 1, we have responded to 29 fires that have burned approximately 161.6 acres. We would like to ask the public to please follow burning restrictions, especially on sunny and windy conditions,” said Jeremy Jones, Director/State Forester of the West Virginia Division of Forestry.
Statewide burning restrictions will remain in effect until the spring fire season closes on May 31. The Division of Forestry has issued burning guidelines on its website at wv-forestry.com/ fire-laws.
Regulations include:
• All fires must have a safety strip.
• The safety strip itself must be cleared of burnable
material and be at least 10 feet wide.
• Fire must be attended until completely extinguished.
• Only vegetative materials such as leaves, brush and yard clippings are permitted to be burnt.
