Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, April 15, 1995 TAG: 9504170052
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DAVID REED ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: NEW CASTLE LENGTH: Medium
Within 100 yards of several Craig County homes, the forest floor is charred black.
Firefighters used water hoses and backfires to keep the flames away during the massive forest fire here this week, and some homeowners got on their roofs with their own hoses to soak the shingles and siding.
It's a scene that is playing out more often in Virginia as woodland home construction expands and many residents fail to plan for fire, Chris Thomsen, a state Department of Forestry firefighting coordinator, said Friday.
``We've been lucky,'' Thomsen said.
Homes at the edge of forest fires were evacuated in Nelson County and Scott County this month, but, as in the Craig County fire, none burned.
Last fall, 30 homes were evacuated during a fire in Page County and 15 homes during a blaze in Russell and Dickenson counties in which two homes and 10 outbuildings were destroyed.
``The situation you see out in the far West, where major fires destroy homes, is starting to become a reality here in Virginia,'' Thomsen said.
There were 524 developments and 18,203 homes in Virginia's woodlands in 1979. Last year, a state Department of Forestry survey counted 2,914 developments and 227,687 homes in or at the edge of woods.
The trend is continuing, Thomsen said. ``Everyone in the city wants to come out in the country. You see them all snuggled in where you can barely see them and barely get to them.''
Along with the wooden shingles, siding, decks and porches, the location can pose a fire hazard. At several of the woodland homes in Craig County, the driveways were too narrow or bumpy for fire trucks to get in.
``No fireman is going to risk a life to bring in equipment,'' Thomsen said. ``So those houses are going to burn.''
The Forestry Department advises woodland residents to reduce the fire threat by:
Using fire-resistant building materials.
Burning debris safely or creating wildlife habitat by making brush piles.
Storing firewood away from the home.
Controlling vegetation around the home.
Developing a water supply.
Keeping fire tools handy.
Planning adequate access and escape.
by CNB