Officials with the West Virginia Division of Forestry are watching the weather with growing concern because a recent dry spell could mean a bad fall forest fire season.
A recent dry spell has evaporated 4 to 5 inches of groundwater on forest floors, according to Assistant state forester Ben Webster.
While a wet summer has kept lower layers damp, dryness is a problem in parts of the state, especially in northern West Virginia.
About half the state is either abnormally dry or suffering moderate drought conditions, according to the National Integrated Drought Information System report for this week. The driest areas include the entire Northern Panhandle and most of the Eastern Panhandle.
“We will have fires,” forestry spokeswoman Leslie Fitzwater said. “We always have fires in the fall.”
The number of fires this year has almost caught up with the totals from the previous two years: last spring, the division handled 773 fires that burned roughly 9,400 acres. In all of 2008, there were 889 fires on roughly 13,100 acres, and in 2007 there were 849 fires on 7,100 acres.
The worst year in recent memory was 2001, when there were 887 fires that burned more than 86,400 acres.
“We hope they won’t get too bad, but if they do, we’re prepared,” Fitzwater said.
Topics Virginia West Virginia
Was this article valuable?
Here are more articles you may enjoy.
Chubb Q2 Net Income Up 24% to $2.2B 
Project 2025 Plan to End NFIP Welcomed by Some, Rejected by Others in Insurance 
Oscar Mayer Wienermobile Rolls Over in Chicago Highway Crash 
Soccer Officials Arrested After Melee That Damaged Hard Rock Stadium in Miami 
