It’s Fire Season Again­­­

Brush Fire season is upon us and with the dry conditions and heavy winds we have been having lately, fires have spread quickly. In just the past week and a half or so, there have been several fires across the county. A fire on Widen Ridge made it a concern for bus drivers with their bus run to take kids home from school wondering if the conditions were going to be safe and if they would have clear vision to drive through that way. Several fire departments were on scene working hard to put the fire out, but later that night, the fire rekindled and fire fighters had to respond back to fire the fire again. There was a fire in Camp Creek and it spread extremely close to homes. Wednesday morning, Clay County dispatchers toned out Clay Fire Department to respond to a fire near Chilton Nichols’ house on Clay Maysel Road. Mr. Nichols’ could not exit his driveway from where the fire had spread across the road. Luckily and thanks to the firefighters who worked many long hours that fire was contained and put out. Wednesday evening, a few short hours after station 20 had left the scene of the brush fire on Clay Maysel Road, they were toned out for a raging brush fire in Camp Creek, near the same area as the first fire earlier in the week. The wind was so bad and consistent that the fire spread quickly. Many firefighters were on scene along with members from the forestry department trying to contain the fire. Thankfully, heavy rains came and the fire was quickly under control and soon put out from the rains.
Be careful IF you have to burn and make sure it stays in a proper fire ring or safety strip and keep it contained to a small fire. And, please, only burn between the designated hours and if there are dry conditions and strong winds, please don’t burn at all. “West Virginia Division of Forestry officials remind residents that the state’s fall forest fire season runs through Dec. 31, 2015. Daytime burning is prohibited from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Outdoor burning is permitted only between the hours of 5 p.m. and 7 a.m.” If you have any question on burning or need more information about the laws, you can visit www.wvforestry.com to see all of the rules and regulations to burning or call (304) 558-2788.