April 18, 2018 - A very long siege of wildfire activity, which shows no signs of coming to an end, is taking its toll on firefighting resources in Texas and Oklahoma. Hundreds of thousands of acres have burned, homes have been lost and there have been several injuries and fatalities over the last several weeks. Virginia Department of Forestry (DOF) Chief of Operations Ed Zimmer said, “Our friends in the Southwest are on their... Read More
April 11, 2018 - In response to weather forecasts for Thursday, April 12, the Virginia Department of Forestry (DOF) urges people to help prevent wildfires by postponing open-air fires until conditions improve. The combination of strong winds, increased temperatures and low humidity will create extremely dangerous fire weather conditions Thursday. Fire Weather Watches have already been posted by the National Weather Service (NWS) covering northern and western Virginia for Thursday afternoon. Temperatures are expected... Read More
April 11, 2018 - by DOF Forester Sarah Long On March 2, most of Virginia experienced a prolonged period of high intensity winds at speeds of nearly 70 MPH. This was a long day for all volunteer and career first responders, beginning for some at 5 a.m. and not ending until well after dark. The Virginia Department of Forestry was very active during that day. This is my second spring fire season and I... Read More
March 5, 2018 - Spring wildfire season, which began February 15, is in full swing and the high winds that raged across Virginia since Thursday only made conditions more dangerous. Governor Northam declared a State of Emergency Friday afternoon as a result of extreme weather conditions which resulted in hundreds of wildfires throughout the Commonwealth. Virginia Department of Forestry (DOF) firefighters have responded to fires in the counties of Albemarle, Amherst, Amelia, Appomattox, Bedford,... Read More
