FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) – The Kentucky Division of Forestry (KDF) is reminding people to be careful when burning items outdoors.
Wednesday marks the start of Spring Forest Fire Season. It lasts until April 30. The law prohibits any person to burn between the daylight hours of 6:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. in every Kentucky county.
The KDF has responded to 78 wildland fires since January, and officials attributed nearly 40 percent of those fires to debris burning. Drought conditions last fall also created extreme wildfire conditions.
“Don’t burn on dry, windy days and maintain a careful watch over a fire until it is extinguished,” said Division of Forestry Director Bill Steele.
Kentucky Division of Forestry’s Fire Chief James Wright spent a lot of time last fall fighting fires in eastern Kentucky. He says the mild and wet winter has helped, but drought-like conditions are still a danger.
“We’ve actually had enough rainfall in the winter time to not have a catastrophic season, however we were already in drought conditions. We barely came out of it, so it wouldn’t take too long of a dry period to get us right back into mild drought conditions again,” said Wright. “Once you have leaf out, you have that shade on the forest floor, then your burning conditions start to disappear.”