The Kanawha County Commission instituted a burn ban Thursday night as the whole county is in Extreme or Exceptional Drought conditions. Violating the ban is a misdemeanor offense.
Commission President Lance Wheeler said fire departments had asked for the ban. Wheeler said the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office won’t start charging people right away, but the ban gives them “teeth†if they need it.
Smoke from a forest fire rises from the mountainside above a house at Holly Grove in Kanawha County on the evening of Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024.
CHRIS DORST | Gazette-Mail
The burn ban will be in effect until C.W. Sigman, county emergency manager, believes it can be lifted safely.
“We always tell people a green grass yard is probably the best safety from a forest fire,†Sigman said. “People don’t have green grass yards right now. They have dry tinder grass.â€
A forecast map from the West Virginia Division of Forestry shows moderate fire danger for Saturday.
Earlier this week, the commission sent a letter to Gov. Jim Justice asking for a statewide burn ban. Justice had not instituted a statewide ban as of Friday afternoon. Justice has declared a State of Emergency due to the drought.
The Commission also gave $200,000 in opioid settlement funds to Union Mission Ministries for the purchase of four vehicles and a structure to keep the vehicles under.
They set aside $1.4 million from the first opioid payout of $3 million to reimburse the county for expenses like Narcan, ambulance rides and other needs caused by the opioid epidemic. This has been approved under the settlement agreement.
This $1.4 million will be used for the emergency radio network system project.
The Commission also approved the procurement of a financing plan up to $15 million for the Judicial Building renovations. Cam Siegrist, an attorney with Bowles Rice LLP, explained the mechanism would be lease revenue bonds.
Under this plan, investors own the building for a time and lease the property back to the government entity who makes lease payments equal to the debt service on the bonds, Siegrist explained.
Bids for the project construction are due next week. The Commission will consider the bonds on Oct. 1.
The Commission also approved $9,000 for fish releases at Clendenin/Blue Creek, Meadowood and Indian Lake this fall.
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