As drought conditions become more severe in central West Virginia, some local officials have expressed concern for public safety and a desire for tighter regulations on firemaking.
On Monday, the Kanawha County Commission penned letters to Gov. Jim Justice and Jeremy Jones, director of the West Virginia Division of Forestry. In these letters, the commissioners requested a formal “burn ban” for the county, prohibiting man-made fires while drought conditions persist.
Similar bans are currently active in several other parts of the state, including Fayette, Nicholas and Wirt counties.
Commission President Lance Wheeler, Commissioner Ben Salango and Commissioner Marc Slotnick made the request because “the ongoing extreme drought” brought “dry vegetation and dry, brittle leaves on the ground,” according to a Tuesday press release.
Currently, Kanawha County is experiencing an “extreme drought” according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.
With little rain expected in the days ahead, the commission expressed concern that this would put the county at greater risk of wildfires, as residents could have less control over the spread of their burns.
“We implore people not to burn this week,” they wrote. The commission asked residents not to burn trash, and to ensure cigarettes “are completely out before disposal.”
This summer, sparse rainfall has brought challenges to agriculture across the state, leading Justice to declare a state of emergency for all 55 West Virginia counties in July.
In March, dry conditions and strong winds led to the spread of wildfires in the state’s Eastern Panhandle and Potomac Highlands.
Under state law, outdoor burning is prohibited from Oct. 1 to Dec. 31 during daytime hours due to increased wildfire risk.
But the governor and state forester can issue a burning ban to address environmental concerns outside that time period — a step that members of the commission are now urging state officials to take.