ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, March 15, 1996 TAG: 9603150061
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-5 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: RICHMOND
SOURCE: Associated Press
Winter's record snowfalls and abundant rains have kept forests damp and relatively free of fire, but that could change with a few days of warm, dry weather, a forestry official said Thursday.
Limbs and trees that snapped during ice storms in 1994 still litter the forest floors and could fuel intensely hot fires, Forestry Department spokesman Lou Southard warned.
March 1 is generally accepted as the start of the state's fire season, but lingering snow and rainy weather have pushed the season's beginning back this year, Southard said.
``We could get into fire weather in a few weeks,'' he said.
Last year in Virginia, 1,656 fires burned 9,240 acres of timber. Those figures are about average, Southard said. He said an intense fire awareness campaign prevented a worse fire season.
In 30 counties with the most fuel from the ice storms, Federal Emergency Management Agency money was used to hire extra firefighters. The agency also paid for 10 specially equipped Humvee military vehicles to fight blazes.
The trucks and extra firefighters still are available, Southard said.
LENGTH: Short : 32 linesby CNB