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1,556 Forest Fires Burned
In Virginia, (March-April
Serious forest fire condition^ have ended for this spring, according to State Forester, George W. Dean. He states that rain and green vegetation have closed what was the worst spring forest fire “conditions existing in the state since 1342.
During the past spring,, principally in March and April, 1556 fires burned in Virginia’s woodlands, bringing destruction to 16, 038 acres of timber. This is con-' trasted with the record for the spring of 1949, during which 1,027 fires burned 8,279 acres.
The spring season was marked by high, drying winds and spasmodic rainfall. These conditions brought about the highest forest fire hazard that has been recarded in the state since the spring of 1942, at which time 222,347 acres of Virginia’s woodlands were burned. Rainfall and general weather records for the two seasons were nearly the same. Mr. Dean states that only the care exercised by persons using the woodlands and the quiet action of the forest wardens kept this years record from being much worse. He feels that the wardens should be especially complimented for the facts that their efficient action kept the average fire to 10 acres and that only 00.12 percent of the woodlands of Virginia were burned.
Virginia Forest Service records show that the largest fires of the season burned in Powhatan, 596 acres, and in Mecklenberg, 335 • acres. From the standpoint of the largest number of fires, Henrico and Chesterfield( counties lead with 73 dnd 75 respectively. Fairfax County had 46 fires and Norfolk ran fourth with 43.
73.0%