CHARLESTON, W.Va. — State Forester Jeremy Jones says while the consistent dry weather and increased wind make for a tricky fire season, he’s hoping the weather is looking more promising as we head into November.
He said the dry falling leaves mixed with the wind have been causing a few more forest fires than usual, fires which the state Division of Forestry is currently out there battling across West Virginia.
However, Jones told MetroNews on Thursday that he was hoping some of Friday’s early rains rolling through would help the situation some at least.
Jeremy Jones
“At least give us a little bit of a break, and you know, I’m really wishing this front would come on through and this wind would die back down, but unfortunately that’s not going to happen until later tonight into tomorrow,” Jones said Thursday.
In Kanawha County, Jones said there are currently two active forest fires underway, as well as a couple in Logan and a few in Wayne County.
While he said he couldn’t speak for the other districts because he has specifically been handling the fires in his district alone, he said he believes there were a handful of active forest fires across the state’s six districts as of Thursday.
Jones said they take a little bit more of an indirect approach to fighting the fires when there’s a lot of wind in the equation.
“You just want to make sure that number one, you keep the public safe, and then the second priority would be structures, infrastructure, things of that nature, because the way this wind is blowing, you just kind of steer it away from things that are important,” he said.
Jones said that November at least is looking more promising for a break in battling forest fires, however.
“They’re fortunately saying that November is going to be more of an active weather pattern, so we’re hoping that we get more moisture and that we get some relief from this drought,” Jones said.
Jones also said they have been utilizing the new equipment Governor Jim Justice announced in September ahead of fire season, and it has been more efficient in helping them battle the fires.
The new equipment includes eight UTVs complete with water tanks, two bulldozers, three Wildland Fire Engines, six new drones to assist in forest fire detection, and 17 new pickup trucks fitted with skid units for enhanced firefighting capabilities.
In 2023, Justice signed a bill providing $4 million for the new equipment.
However, Jones said that with as dry as it has been this season, more rain is about the only thing they can hope for in the next coming days as it’s the ultimate antidote to keeping the fires at bay.
“We probably will experience some more extreme fire behavior and things of that nature if we don’t start getting rain over the next few days, because what’s really been kind of keeping things under wraps has been the canopies, you know, the shaded forest floors which keep our fuels wet longer when they do get a little bit of rain,” said Jones.
As far as that needed rain goes, however, the National Weather Service is saying there’s only a slight chance of seeing it for Friday and this weekend, but chances of precipitation is expected to increase into next week.