Important Message from Alert Fauquier:
PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 9, 2023
WARRENTON VA – Due to the unusually warm, breezy and dry conditions, and the forecast for the continuance of these conditions; an immediate burn ban is in effect across Fauquier County until further notice. We will re-evaluate the situation after we have adequate rainfall throughout the county. Any fires being conducted shall be extinguished immediately. Any further information needed please call the Fauquier County Fire Marshal’s Office at (540) 878-9261 or (540) 422-8823
The burn ban will prohibit the following:
• Residential or open burning (leaves, branches, yard debris, etc.).
• Agricultural burning (agricultural wastes, crops, field burning, etc.).
• Any land clearing, slash, stump, waste, debris, or controlled burning.
• Any commercial or industrial burning
The burn ban will not prohibit:
• Small outdoor cooking fires. These include portable or permanent fire rings/pits, fire tables, and campfires, with a maximum fuel area of three feet in diameter and one feet in height in a safe location away from combustibles or vegetation and are fully extinguished after use.
• Barbeque grills, smokers, and similar cooking appliances with clean, dry firewood, briquettes, wood chips, pellets, propane, natural gas, or similar fuels.
Helpful hints:
• Always have an extinguisher or adequate water ready and available to extinguish your fire.
• Do not toss your cigarette on the ground, this causes combustibles such as mulch to ignite. It is also illegal. Properly discard. Be responsible.
• Throwing or tossing cigarettes and cigars from a vehicle is not only illegal but dangerous and will cause unwanted fires.
• Adjust your trailer chains so they do not drag the pavement, creating sparks while driving. • Avoid cooking outdoors during this drought season. If you do cook, never leave barbeque grills unattended. Place your grill on concrete or your driveway away from your home or any structures. If using charcoal or wood, make sure that the fire has been extinguished by soaking it with a garden hose before disposing of the coals.
• During this time, do not burn anything in barrels.
• Check lawnmowers and farm equipment for properly working spark arresters.
• Cut back or remove any dry and dead landscaping plants or bushes around your home. Clear leaves from your roof and gutters; rake them away from the sides of your home.
• Move anything that will burn far away from structures, items like firewood, compost piles, brush piles, etc.
• Notify the electric company when dead trees or overhanging limbs endanger the electric wires.