CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Kanawha and Mason Counties joined the list of West Virginia counties to issue a burning ban amidst the statewide drought.
The Mason County Commission issued its ban Thursday afternoon, while the Kanawha County Commission announced its ban Thursday evening.
Mason County Commission released a statement reading, “Mason County has been significantly impacted by extreme drought conditions and widespread wildfires, resulting in severe damage to private property and an increased threat to life and safety.”
Kanawha County Emergency Director C.W. Sigman says parts of Kanawha County are classified as the two highest ratings on the U.S. drought monitor, extreme drought and exceptional drought.
C.W. Sigman
“We’re in “extreme drought” in most of the county, and the northwest part of the county is an “exceptional drought,” Sigman said. “There’s a state of emergency in the state because of the drought. We already have a moderate fire danger out for tomorrow, even after the rain.”
Kanawha County Commission President Lance Wheeler says the exceptionally dry ground paired with leaves falling early could be catastrophic.
“You’ve got to imagine how dry this ground is, and then you’ve got to think of the leaves, that’s the second concern here. The leaves are already starting to fall, they’re falling early because of the drought. They are tender boxes at this point,” Wheeler said. “It could just be a little campfire that could set off a tremendous blaze.”
Sigman says the weather for the weekend made it clear a ban needed to be issued in Kanawha County.
“It’s going to be in the 90’s this weekend. It’s going to be tough for the firefighters to fight the fires, and when we get any kind of wind, we’re going to be in trouble,” Sigman said. “We always tell people, a green grass yard is probably the best safety for a forest fire. People don’t have green grass yards right now, they have dry tendery grass in their yard, so the chance of a fire spreading is pretty high this weekend.”
Kanawha County officials made it clear Thursday evening that the burning ban is geared toward the potential weather factors this weekend. Wheeler says they are watching the weather and considering what could spark a large forest fire.
“We’re not going to have this burn ban until next summer,” Wheeler said. “This is just for the time being because we’re watching the weather, we have concerns with the wind, the drought, and the leaves. That’s a perfect mixture for a massive forest fire here in Kanawha County.”
Lance Wheeler
Earlier in the week, the Kanawha County Commission made an effort to convince state leaders that a burning ban should be issued for the entire state of West Virginia, as much of the state is in the “extreme drought” category. The commission sent in a letter to Governor Jim Justice and the West Virginia Division of Forestry but have received no response.
Wheeler says Kanawha County will continue to contact state leaders to express their concerns.
“I think we’re going to continue to ask the state, and it’s up to them, for a statewide burn ban at this point because, again, this is a historical high for a drought,” Wheeler said. “We’ve never seen anything like this, and I think that’s a concern.”