Wildland Fires Way Up This Year

During the first 73 days of 2006, wildland fires in Virginia have increased 382 percent over the same period last year. The number of acres burned increased 1,297 percent during the same period. Dry, windy conditions with little or no rain have made conditions ripe for wildland fires and officials with the Virginia Department of Forestry (VDOF) are cautioning Virginians to be extra careful with any type of fire.

"Virginia is more than five inches short on rainfall," said John Miller, VDOF director of resource protection. "Combine this dry ground with the warm weather and the high winds we're experiencing and you have the perfect recipe for wildfires. Because more than 90 percent of all wildfires are caused by humans, we're asking everyone to check the weather and think before burning anything."

Virginia has a 4 p.m. burn restriction in place from Feb. 15 until April 30. The law prohibits open-air fires before 4 p.m. and after midnight every day.

"We're seeing a lot of fires caused by folks burning debris both before and after 4 p.m.," said Miller. "Obviously, those burning before 4 p.m. are breaking the law. But, even after 4 p.m., just because you can burn doesn't mean you should burn. Wait until conditions improve. Your life and your property aren't worth the risk of a wildfire."

This year, 531 wildland fires have been reported since Jan. 1, 2006. During the same period last year, there were 110 wildfires in Virginia. A total of 3,214 acres have burned this year, compared with 230 during this time last year.

The Virginia Department of Forestry protects and develops healthy, sustainable forest resources for Virginians. Headquartered in Charlottesville, there are Forestry staff members assigned to every county to provide service to citizens of the Commonwealth. With nearly 16 million acres of forest land and more than 248,000 Virginians employed in the forest products industry, Virginia forests provide more than $30 Billion annually in benefits to the Commonwealth. VDOF is an equal opportunity provider.