Kentucky’s fall forest fire hazard season begins October 1 and extends through December 15. During fire seasons, it is illegal to burn trash, wood, or any other materials within 150 feet of brush or woodland between the hours of 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. Officials said this fire season likely won’t be out of the ordinary, and no drought warnings have been issued yet, but the regulations are still strictly enforced.
Jeff Anderson is the Morehead Fire Chief. He said weather conditions during the daytime make lands more prone to wildfires.
“During the day, the higher daytime temperatures dry out the fuels faster and wind speed generally picks during that time and humidity drops. So, after 6 p.m., the weather gets generally a little bit better,” said Anderson. “Temperatures drop a little bit, that helps us with the heat. The wind speed generally gets lower after 6 p.m., and humidity levels usually rise.”
Anderson advised eastern Kentuckians to take extra precautions in areas near the Daniel Boone National Forest, which surrounds the city of Morehead. He said wildfires often start when people drop their guard and don’t check the forecast for fire warnings or other weather conditions.
“You get these nice end-of-the-year, or especially in the spring, cleanup days, and they wanna go out and burn some carboard boxes and are not watching the weather, or trash. Illegal burns, not thinking that what they’re doing is gonna spread, but they’re in that fire season time. So, generally, what happens is that it’s cleanup or farm cleanup, somebody's trying to clean a field or a fence line,” said Anderson.
Anderson encouraged residents to watch for fire warnings or any wider burn bans through the fall fire season. In Kentucky, anyone found in violation of fire season laws can receive a fine between $1,000-$10,000, a prison sentence of no more than five years, or both a fine and imprisonment.