Fire Risk is Moderate in Virginia

There are varying opinions on whether we are in an abnormal dry spell now or not. Lynchburg is currently suffering from an 8 inch rainfall deficit as reported by WSET last week.

I know that my plants and yard are looking brown. The leaves are going straight to brown and falling from the trees. My grass is crunching under my feet and all of these are danger signs with hunting season on the horizon. While this dry spell is nothing like we dealt with a few years ago when wells started failing all over and lake levels dropped, it is still something to be taken seriously.

Autumn is a time of year when people like to get out, hike, hunt, camp and enjoy nature. Unfortunately, this is also a time of year for increased wildfire risk. Here is a website that will tell you ways to properly build a campfire and other things you can do to help decrease the chance of wildfire while you are out enjoying this beautiful world around us.


The Southern Area Coordination Center (SACC) is a key player in the National Incident Management System, developed to coordinate and provide support in emergency situations. SACC is the focal point for mobilizing resources such as aircraft, crews, equipment, and personnel within the Southeastern U.S. (as well as to other parts of the country), in support of wildland fires and emergency/disaster relief efforts. In addition to resource mobilization, SACC's other main role is providing Intelligence and Predictive Services products to support wildland fire managers and firefighters in the decision making process.

Here is a map showing the current fire risk for our area. Fortunately it is moderate as opposed to high or extreme, but we still need to be careful when we are in the woods. Here is another link at the SACC site where you can check out a wide variety of maps for our area.