Pam Dudding
Contributing writer
A fire can be nice, warming and even a welcoming comfort during cold nights. However, when unattended, it can also be detrimental in its consuming ways.
The Forestry Service recently posted information concerning the upcoming Burn Ban.
“This is a statewide burn ban,” Jim Cady, the Craig County Emergency Management Coordinator and Emergency Services Coordinator, said. “It’s every year, dates change slightly.”
Cady also noted that the ban creates a lot of calls to Emergency Services personnel and the dispatchers. He added, “for the most part people want to assist us and cooperate, but have a lack of knowledge about the law, therefore it’s best to get the information out to the citizens.”
The Burn Ban Law goes into effect February 15 and will last through April 30. If anyone does not follow the law, the maximum fine is $500.
Burning Law states:
- No burning until after 4 p.m. if within 300 feet of woodland of grass brushland leading into woodlands.
- Fires must be attended at all times if within 150 feet of woodland or grass or brushland leading into woodland.
- No fuel may be added, or fire rekindled after midnight.
- Law applies to campfires, warming fires, brush piles, household trash, stumps, fields of broomstraw and brush or anything capable of spreading fire.
If anyone has questions, they are encouraged to contact the Virginia Department of Forestry or Jim Cady at [email protected].
