Drought Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Governor Issues Outdoor Burning Ban

To reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfires due to drought, Gov. Jim Justice has banned all outdoor burning throughout West Virginia, effective Monday, April 17, 2023.

Dry and windy weather conditions expected in the coming days and an increasing potential for forest fires prompted the move. The National Weather Service – Charleston issued a Special Weather Statement for a High Fire Danger Threat.

The ban will be in effect until conditions improve and the governor rescinds the order by further proclamation.

The order makes it unlawful for any person in the state to engage in outdoor burning, including fires built for camping, the burning of debris, or warming.

The following items are excluded from the restrictions:

Fires for the purpose of chemical production, where fire is essential to operation.
Fires for commercial land-clearing, such as mining, highway construction, and development provided that a permit is obtained from the Division of Forestry prior to burning.
Training fires conducted under the direct control and supervision of qualified instructors at a training facility operated by a fire department or government entity provided that a permit is obtained from the Division of Forestry prior to burning.
Fires for outdoor cooking conducted for fund-raising events and charitable organizations provided that a water source capable of extinguishing the fire is present and a permit is obtained from the Division of Forestry prior to the operation.
Liquid fueled gas grills, lanterns or liquid-fueled gas fire stoves.

Justice has instructed the Division of Forestry to enact a forest fire readiness plan and to enforce the ban on burning as outlined in W.Va. Code §20-1-1, et seq.

“This year, we have experienced a significant period of low humidity and below average rainfall,” Acting West Virginia Division of Forestry Director and State Forester Tony Evans said. “Since Jan. 1, we have experienced 654 different fires in the state, and a current total of 4,121 acres burned. This ban helps ensure we are doing everything we can to protect the public, our forests, and private property from the damage that can occur from a forest fire.”

The order directs the Division of Forestry and the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management to provide continuous information to the governor and the public regarding forest conditions.

Additionally, the proclamation orders the Division of Natural Resources, the Office of the State Fire Marshal, the Department of Homeland Security, and the State Police to cooperate in the enforcement of this ban.

View the full proclamation.

Rising CO2 Levels Could Change W.Va.

A recent report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration indicated that the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has reached unprecedented levels. Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas contributing to climate change.

Eric Douglas spoke with Tina Cartwright, a Marshall University professor of science education and meteorology, to understand what increased levels of CO2 mean and how they affect us in the Mountain State.

This interview has been lightly edited for clarity.

Douglas: Explain to me what we don’t understand about greenhouse gases about how that affects our environment.

Cartwright: One of my established goals when I teach about weather is to try to relay the fact that the greenhouse gases are our friends, and not foes. Without greenhouse gases, there wouldn’t be life on Earth. Greenhouse gases act like a blanket on your body at night. Without a blanket, you’re feeling kind of chilly.

Marshall University professor Tina Cartwright conducting climate change field work in Costa Rica.

Greenhouse gases are naturally occurring gases in our atmosphere. Without the greenhouse gases, we’d have huge variations in nighttime and daytime temperatures. We would see 100-degree temperature changes much like they saw on the moon.

When we talk about climate change, we’re talking about enhancing the greenhouse effect. You are piling more and more blankets on at night. We are enhancing the greenhouse effect which is causing the temperatures to rise.

Climate is described by two things: temperature and precipitation. And we are 100 percent dependent upon reliable patterns of precipitation. Our food sources need precipitation. The groundwater that our food sources use relies on reliable patterns of precipitation.

Douglas: The mean level CO2 in the atmosphere has reached its highest level (417 parts per million), since they started tracking it 63 years ago. What does that mean to us?

Cartwright: I remember learning about this 20 years ago when I was in college, and at that point they were talking about, we might get to 350 parts per million. So we’ve seen we’ve reached this number far sooner than we anticipated 20 to 25 years ago.

When we look at the past climate record, scientists show us that there is a relationship between the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. As it goes up, the temperature goes up.

The concern is that we cause feedback loops. Places like Alaska, as the temperature warms the permafrost, the frozen ground, thaws, and now you have a release of carbon dioxide as plants decay and die and release more carbon dioxide.

The other thing is changes to albedo. Albedo describes the amount of sunlight that’s reflected back. As a place loses ice because it’s warmed, now you’re exposing the bare ground that is darker. It absorbs more sunlight, it gets warmer and melts more ice. We’re very worried as a scientific community as we increase the amount of carbon dioxide, that we’re enhancing those positive feedback loops.

Douglas: Post-coronavirus, we’re all kind of opening back up, we’re driving again, we’re all going places again. Even though there was a reduction in production for a year, the carbon dioxide level in the atmosphere hasn’t dropped.

Cartwright: If anything we might have learned that a single approach to this problem isn’t going to be enough. It isn’t as simple as not driving our cars. It isn’t as simple as not taking as many flights. It’s a very complex problem that is going to take all of us doing a lot of different things differently from the top down, from the bottom up, to make to make a true impact and that impact is going to take many, many, years for us to measure it because carbon dioxide is in our atmosphere for such a long time.

Douglas: Because we have a temperate climate here, it is harder for people to grasp what that means to West Virginia. So explain what all of this means for us.

Cartwright: Two weeks ago, we went to Glacier National Park. And that was fabulous. They talked a lot about the lack of snow that they had received, and how that not only impacts the water availability now, but it’s going to impact the water availability over their whole coming dry summer season.

What we’ll have to start thinking about in West Virginia is that we might have too much rain in a certain time of year, and then drier seasons that can go on for a long time.

We’re seeing that the world is so connected. And it’s one thing to think about your yard and your neighborhood, but we’re seeing an impact on our wallet which we don’t ignore. When prices and the availability of things fluctuate we’re like, “holy heck, what’s happened?”

There will be more of that because of the interconnection of our agriculture. We may experience much more rainfall than normal. That’s West Virginia’s biggest weather problem — flooding. It might be too wet to raise crops.

And then we have to think about growing something else. It’s a complex system, and I’m afraid we’re all going to see that and feel that interconnectedness, like we have gotten a taste of, through COVID and through cybersecurity issues.

Drought Worsening As Hot, Dry Fall Continues

Federal officials say drought conditions in West Virginia are worsening as unusually high heat continues to beat down on the region.

The U.S. Drought Monitor map released Thursday shows large swaths of southern West Virginia in a severe drought, a designation that includes the likely loss of crops and water shortages. The map also classifies the entire northern part of the state as abnormally dry.

Officials say nearly 50% of the state’s population is now in a drought.

The National Weather Service marked last month as one of warmest and driest Septembers on record in multiple West Virginia cities. Less than one inch of rain was recorded in the month.

Temperatures measured on Oct. 1 also surpassed record highs for the month in five cities.

Justice Bans Most Outdoor Burning Due To Drought

West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice has issued a ban on most outdoor burning due to drought conditions and reduced water supply levels in some communities.

The ban is effective immediately and will remain in effect until conditions improve and Justice rescinds the order.

Justice’s office said the ban prohibits outdoor burning, including fires built for camping, burning of debris or warming. The news release said the ban is necessary “to reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfires due to drought.”

Some fires are excluded, including those needed for chemical production; commercial land-clearing efforts with necessary permit; training fires with permit under supervision of qualified instructors; commercial outdoor cooking; and liquid-fueled gas fire stoves, grills and lanterns.

Division of Forestry Director Barry Cook said there have been 60 fires in September.