By: Lydia Crawley
The Parsons Advocate
March may seem to be coming in like a lion this year, but with it came the return of annual burning restrictions throughout the State of West Virginia on March 1st. Here is what Tucker County residents need to know.
The West Virginia Division of Forestry (WV DOF) has issued a reminder for residents to restrict outdoor burning to the hours of 5 p.m. to 7 a.m. This restriction is in accordance with WV State Code Chapter 20-3-5, according to the WV DOF.
The WV DOF reports that even though this winter has been cold and snowy, there have been 50 fires that have consumed approximately 232 acres of land.
“We urge everyone to strictly adhere to burning regulations, particularly during sunny and windy conditions,” Director/State Forester of the West Virginia Division of Forestry Jeremy Jones said.
The Take Away
The DOF has outlined the following as general burning guidelines during the spring fire season/annual burning restrictions.
*All fires must have a ring or safety strip.
*The safety strip itself must be cleared of burnable material and be at least 10 feet wide, fully encompassing the debris pile.
*Fire must be attended until completely extinguished.
*Only vegetative materials such as leaves, brush and yard clippings are permitted to be burnt.
*Fines for forest fires due to negligence range from $100 to $1,000 with additional civil penalty of $200.
*Follow all burning season guidelines, which state that between March 1 and May 31.
*If operating spark-throwing machinery such as power shovels or sawmills on land subject to fire, machinery must contain an adequate spark arrestor.
*Inflammable waste disposal areas must annually remove all grass, brush, debris and other inflammable material adjacent to disposal areas to provide adequate protection, preventing the escape of fire to adjacent lands.
*The State shall recover from the person or persons, firms or corporations whose negligence or whose violations of any provisions of this article cause ANY fire at ANY time on any grass or forest land in the amount expended by the State.
*A landowner must take all practicable means to suppress ANY fire on his property. If he fails to do so, the State shall collect from him the amounts expended by the State for such purposes.
*To burn during prohibited periods for commercial burning, a permit must be obtained from the Division of Forestry.
The WV DOF does note that the burning season prohibitions does exclude small fires for the purpose of food preparation, warmth or light around which all grass, brush, stubble or debris has been removed at least 10 feet from the fire itself and burning which is conducted at any time when the ground surrounding the burning site is covered by one inch of snow or more.
These burning restrictions will remain in effect until the spring fire season has ended on May 31st, the WV DOF said. An additional Burning Restriction Season will occur from October 1st to December 31st, according to WV DOF.
