Virginia's Fire History: 2002

State Summary

In 2002, the Department of Forestry managed 1,684 wildfires, which burned 13,325 acres. Though drought conditions caused the spring fire season to begin early, recurring rain events in late March and April limited wildfire activity during the most crucial spring time period. Following this slight break in activity, wildfire activity resumed during the normally light summer months as drought returned, causing conditions to reach extreme levels on a statewide basis by mid-June, resulting in one of the state's busiest summer wildfire seasons in the last ten years. Predictions of continued drought for the remainder of the calendar year, initiated a great deal of planning and preparation at all levels to handle what was developing into potentially one of Virginia's worst wildfire years in recent memory. Fortunately, the predictions would not hold true. By early fall and the start of the normal fall wildfire season, recurring periodic rainfall developed on almost a weekly basis bringing an end to the wildfire activity for the year. It is important to note that in spite of the fact that only minimal wildfire activity occurred during the timeframes of the traditional spring and fall wildfire seasons, the calendar year totals for wildfires and acreage still exceeded the 10-year averages. In Virginia, 2002 is noted to be the fourth busiest year in the last 15 years, showing the severity of the abnormal summertime wildfire season.

National Incident Response

2002 developed into yet another disastrous wildfire season in the western United States. Several records were set during 2002 regarding the length and level of severity of the summer wildfire season. Throughout the summer, the Department of Forestry was able to provide 166 incident management and firefighter personnel for voluntary out-of-state wildfire assignments in support of this effort. These assignments prove very valuable to Virginia, helping to further develop the overall experience level and incident management background of agency personnel for wildfire situations that can develop locally.

Training

2002 marked the second annual statewide Wildfire Training Academy. The statewide academy along with several smaller academies and specific training on a county basis, supports the agencies commitment to train and utilize part-time firefighters as well as Volunteer Fire Department (VFD) resources to provide prompt effective wildfire suppression resources for the Commonwealth.

In 2002, the Department of Forestry provided 32 wildland fire training courses to almost 1,000 wildland firefighters, in addition to numerous other localized training for county VFDs. All training efforts included the participation andassistance of the state's cooperative federal wildfire partners, and meet the course guidelines of the National Wildfire Coordinating Group.

In November, 200 new National Guardsmen were trained as wildland firefighters, plus an additional 14 helicopter pilots and crew personnel received refresher type safety training, in preparation for what was predicted to be an especially bad fall wildfire season. National Guard resources will continue to be important to Virginia for wildfire use in times of emergency.

VFD Assistance

In 2002, 236 rural volunteer fire departments received the $245,856 Volunteer Fire Assistance funds made available to Virginia. Grants were awarded for organizing, training, and equipping rural fire departments. This program continues to be an important tool for developing the capacity of VFDs in Virginia.

Prescribed Burning

The summer drought had a significant impact on reducing prescribed burning accomplishments for the year. A Governor's executive order during the summer urged citizens to refrain from outdoor burning, and the Department of Forestry along with other state agencies chose not to complete any prescribed burning projects as long as the order was in place. The limitations remained in effect through late November. These limitations essentially prevented any prescribed burning from taking place during the normally busy late summer/fall site preparation season. In 2002, the department of Forestry recorded 6,891 acres of prescribed burning.

Last modified: Friday, 07-Mar-2008 20:56:25 UTC