Forest Protection and Fire Prevention

The Virginia Department of Forestry (VDOF) protects our forest resources from fire. The principle goals of the Forest Protection Program are:

• to prevent injury or loss of human life
• minimize property damage
• protect the forest resources.

Learn more about the VDOF Forest Protection Program.

Spring Wildfire Season

February 15 - April 30
During this period, the 4PM Burn Law is in effect. Fires cannot be lit until 4PM and cannot be stirred up or have new fuel added after Midnight.
Can I burn...? Burning and the 4 PM Law

The Virginia Department of Forestry and Smokey Bear thank you for abiding by all burning laws and restrictions.

Eager To Burn: Poster (8.5X11) | Newspaper Ad | Website banner |

Fall Wildfire Season

October 15 - November 30
Conditions are ripe for wildfires this time of year.

Fire Safety

• Burn Safely Read and follow these fire safety tips to help you burn safely.
• Burning of leaves, yard waste or trash continue to be the major cause of wildfires in Virginia. These “debris” fires can easily escape unless proper precaution is taken. Take a look at these mini-posters (color; black-and-white) and learn more about how to be safe when burning debris.

Wildfire

• Learn all about wildfire in Virginia, including the causes of forest fires.
• Wildland firefighting is dangerous work. Learn more about fighting wildfire in Virginia.

Wildfire Prevention

Firewise Virginia - Complete information to make your home, property and community safe from wildfire.

Help make your subdivision firewise by using this sample guideline for subdivision ordinances.

Hot Ash Safety - Wood ashes retain enough heat to ignite other combustible materials for several days.

Celebrate Safely

• Easter, Earth Day Coloring Sheet.
• July 4th: visit our July 4th Fireworks and Safety page.
• For any occasion - email a card from Sparky The Fire Dog.
• Create a Smokey Bear Jack O'Lantern with this stencil and instructions (English; PDF format)
• Halloween Safety Tips (English; PDF format)
• Halloween Safety Tips (Spanish; PDF format)
• "Trick or Treat" Poster and Halloween Safety Card from FireWise (English; PDF format).
• Christmas and Hanukah
• St. Patrick's Day Coloring Sheet.

Wildfire Education

eLearning for Kids about Smokey Bear. Take a look at the Story of Smokey Bear in an interactive eLearning format. Children of all ages will enjoy the story. Comments or suggestions? Contact Fred Turck.

All About Smokey Bear.

Get started in Prevention Education

Wildfire Prevention Education for teachers.

Southwestern Virginia Interagency Fire Prevention Education Team

Learn about our Prevention & Education workshops!

Programs and Training

• Dry Hydrants - Learn how fire departments use these non-pressurized pipe systems to refill their tank trucks.

Training and Workshops

• Did you attend one of our Wildland Fire Training Academies? Visit our training academy page.

Prescribed Fire and Smoke Management

• Prescribed Burning Program - prevent fires by managing the forest “fuel” supply. Also provides information on laws, and certification.
• Prescribed Burns In Eastern Mixed-oak Forests from FireScience.gov (English; PDF format)

Volunteer Fire Department Information

• Federal Excess Property Program. The Federal Excess Property Program (FEPP) permits the no-cost LOAN of equipment to rural Volunteer Fire Departments (VFDs).
• Safety Refresher presentation (English; PowerPoint format; 12MB)
• Grants:
  • Virginia Firefighter Assistance and Dry Hydrant Grants - see Financial Assistance and Incentives.

Presentations

Certified Burn Manager Presentations

All presentations are in Adobe Acrobat format; this software or a viewer is required.

• Anatomy of a Burn
• Burn presentation
• Burning Wildfire
• Chemistry of Smoke and Fire
• Cultural Resources
• Environmental Effects
• External Fire Behavior
• Fire Behavior
• Fire Ecology
• Firelines
• Introduction
• Laws
• Liability
• Planning
• Safety
• Smoke
• Superfog
• Tactics and Techniques
• Weather Information

National Guard Training

• Wildland Fire Suppresion (27MB)

Emergencies - Prepare and Respond

• Evacuate! During a wildfire or other emergency, have an evacuation plan to keep safe.
• Prepare Your Trees for a Storm. Prevention tips and guidelines for hiring an arborist.
• Learn what VDOF does during an emergency and what you can do to prepare for one.
• Hurricane Isabel - Learn about VDOF's efforts during this disaster.

Hurricane Information

• National Hurricane Center - Tropical Prediction Center
• Tropical Information - From the Weather Underground.
• Interactive Hurricane Tracker.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Can I burn...? Burning and the 4 p.m. Law

Regional and National Information

• Southern Area Coordination Center (SACC) mobilizes aircraft, crews, and equipment wildland fires and emergency/disaster relief efforts.
• National Interagency Coordination Center
• Wildfire Prevention Education Team news and activity from the Southern region - http://sites.google.com/site/southernwildfireprevention/
• Visit My Forest
• Good Fires

Last modified: Tuesday, 31-Jan-2012 13:13:00 EST