Virginia Department
of Forestry

The Understory – December 12, 2025

December 13, 2025 9:30 am

Escaped outdoor fires are consistently a leading cause of wildfires.

Be Fire Safe This Holiday Season

Virginia’s fall fire season wrapped on Nov. 30. Since its start on Oct. 15, DOF suppressed 152 wildfires that burned 1,733 acres and damaged two outbuildings. DOF response efforts during the fall are credited with protecting 36 homes and 39 other structures with a total value estimated to be over $10 million.

Virginia’s fall fire season may be over, but please take it from our experienced firefighters: Wildfires are a year-round threat. To learn more about how to keep your family and community “fire safe” this holiday season – including safety tips if you choose a real Christmas tree this year – read our fire season recap news release.

DOF Delivers Holiday Joy to State Capitol

DOF recently delivered the Virginia Capitol Christmas Tree, a 25-foot Fraser fir from Mount Rogers Tree Farm in Grayson County. DOF proudly delivers this symbol of Virginia’s magnificent forests and holiday joy to Richmond each year. The tree is now being enjoyed by visitors to the Capitol Square.

This year’s National Christmas Tree is also from Virginia!🎄 Our friends at the U.S. Forest Service and the National Park Service collaborated to select a 35-foot red spruce from Highland County on the George Washington and Jefferson National Forest. The national tree can be viewed in Washington D.C. starting Dec. 6 on the Ellipse at The White House and President’s Park. Learn more on the Forest Service website.

If you haven’t already, make plans to visit a Christmas tree farm this season! Picking out the perfect tree with loved ones makes timeless memories, though the tradition offers more than just holiday fun.

Virginia grows about 475,000 Christmas trees each year.

In addition to supporting local economies, choosing a live tree offers several unexpected environmental benefits. Christmas trees grow in poor-quality soils that other crops can’t survive in, and their presence helps to stabilize soil, improve water quality and support ecosystems throughout their growing years. Furthermore, live trees are renewable and recyclable, with many reused as mulch after the holidays. Artificial trees take decades to degrade in landfills.

To learn more about Christmas trees and farms in Virginia, and to locate a farm near you, visit the Virginia Christmas Tree Growers Association. No matter how you choose to celebrate this season, the Virginia Department of Forestry wishes you happy holidays.

A powerful partnership among working farms and forests is streamlining valuable land conservation programs.

Farm and Forest Conservation Programs Unite

DOF is now working to conserve farms and forests under one roof. The former Office of Farmland Preservation at the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services has combined with DOF’s forestland conservation program into the new DOF Office of Working Lands Preservation (OWL). This includes the reputable Virginia Farm Link Program.

The merge does not change the mission: OWL is committed to preserving valuable working landscapes by working with landowners to help them keep their land in farm and forest. Read more about OWL and how it works in a recent article from our friends at the Virginia Farm Bureau.

Category: Public Information