| Contact Information | Date |
|---|---|
| For Immediate Release Contact: John Campbell 434.220.9070 or 434.989.0665 |
October 6, 2008 VDOF-08029 |
CSI: Virginia Forestry
Forestry professionals from across Virginia are learning how to determine the origin and cause of wildland fires with a special focus on those ignited by arsonists – it’s the woodland version of CSI. The course is being taught this week (National Fire Prevention Week and just nine days before the start of fall fire season in Virginia) at the New Kent Forestry Center, near Providence Forge.
[Note to reporters and editors: Best opportunity for visuals is Thursday afternoon when the Virginia Department of Forestry (VDOF) “students” will be outside at the site of a set fire crawling through the charred remains to determine the ignition point and the cause of the fire.]
“More than 95 percent of wildland fires in Virginia are the result of human activity,” said John Miller, VDOF’s director of resource protection. “And nearly 20 percent of them are started by arsonists. For us to protect the citizens of the Commonwealth, we must first suppress the fire and then we work to determine who started each fire; how each was started, and why.”
A total of 30 VDOF foresters and forestry technicians, who are both wildland firefighters and sworn law enforcement officers, from across the state are taking the course, which involves classroom instruction and a ˝-day (Thursday afternoon) field exercise at the site of a set fire to determine the cause and origin of the wildland fire.
“This course is designed to help our employees use scientific techniques to solve the crime of woods arson, which is a felony in Virginia,” said Miller.
High resolution (4MB each) images for news media.
- CSI Photo One
- CSI Photo Two
- CSI Photo Three
- CSI Photo Four
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The Virginia Department of Forestry protects and develops healthy, sustainable forest resources for Virginians. Headquartered in Charlottesville, the Agency has forestry staff members assigned to every county to provide service to citizens of the Commonwealth. VDOF is an equal opportunity provider.
With nearly 16 million acres of forest land and more than 184,000 Virginians employed in forestry, forest products and related industries, Virginia forests provide more than $27 Billion annually in benefits to the Commonwealth.
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