Fall Wildfire Season Poses Risks for West Virginia
According to the West Virginia Division of Forestry, forests cover 78.5% of the land in the state – making us the third most heavily forested state in the nation. This natural blessing filters water, provides wildlife habitat, and provides rich outdoor recreation opportunities. But in recent years wildfires have taken an increasingly large toll and threaten to consume more of our forests, risking loss of life and extensive property damage. The reasons? A failure by the Legislature to fund the Division of Forestry and climate change.
Over 99% of all wildfires in West Virginia are caused directly by humans or human activities. Debris burning is responsible for 35% of occurrences, the largest single reason. There are two recognized wildfire “seasons” in West Virginia – March 1 to May 31 and October 1 to December 31. Refuse burning is prohibited during these periods.
Most wildfires occur in West Virginia’s southern coal counties but have been increasing in the Eastern Panhandle because of population growth and new home construction. During the 2024 spring season, over 13,000 acres were burned by more than 500 wildfires. This is on top of our experience in 2023, when over 42,000 acres were burned statewide by over 1,100 fires. This is more than twice the average number of acres burned annually between 2001 and 2016.
In September 2024, drought and gusty winds threaten to spread several small brush fires into something more serious. The Division of Forestry says that since July 1 wildfires have burned about 250 acres of West Virginia. forest land.
The Division of Forestry is responsible for protecting all non-Federal land and personal property in the state from wildfire. That state agency is also mandated by state law to suppress wildfires on all lands of the state. According to Mountain State Spotlight, budget cuts have inhibited the DOF’s ability to prepare for and fight wildfires. In 2016, after two successive years of budget cuts, the agency lost one-third of its field staff. In 2019 it lost more funding when the Legislature gave the industry a major cut in timber severance taxes.
Funds to acquire heavy equipment have been unavailable for decades so wildfire suppression is attempted mostly with hand tools and leaf blowers. Dozers are used on a contracted basis when available for large fire suppression but until recently, the DOF had no dozers for its own use.
Underfunding the DOF can be corrected in a year or two if the Legislature can muster the political will. But climate change, which makes wildfires larger and more dangerous, will take a longer-term commitment. Climate change has caused abnormally dry conditions and drought in many areas. Abnormally dry forest conditions simply create more fuel for wildfires. Until we get a handle on this, climate change will increase the threat to our natural forest heritage
