NBC29Louisa Seeks to Prevent Costly Wildfires

Louisa Seeks to Prevent Costly Wildfires

Dry brush, downed power lines and high wind fueled wildfires that burned 1,000 acres in Louisa County last winter. Now, there's a debate in Louisa about the best way to fight fires by preventing them in the first place.

"The heat that will come off of this thing will just -- you just cannot stand between the forest and the house and try and protect it," said David Stone, a forester with the Virginia Department of Forestry.

Foresters are concerned about new homes that are surrounded by quick-burning pine trees. "If we have a bad fire in stands, pine stands, like this where the whole forest is engulfed, there's no way we can save this home," Stone said, referring to a Louisa County neighborhood still under construction.

Fears of serious wildfire damage are why Stone asked the Louisa County Board of Supervisors to pass a law limiting the distance between homes and pine trees. Supervisors rejected the plan, promoting an educational approach instead.

"We have a dismal record here in Louisa County of enforcing ordinances," said Supervisor P.T. Spencer.

Spencer and his colleagues favor an informational brochure to new homeowners, warning about the dangers of these pine forests. But he's still skeptical that everyone will pay attention to those warnings.

"We've got people out here that no matter what you tell them, they're not going to do it," Spencer said. Still, Stone hopes the county will reconsider the possibility of an ordinance keeping in mind the potential danger to property and lives.

"Fire has not been taken out of the woods. Fire's still here. (It) hasn't changed, and now we have homes here on top of that and that's a real concern, a real concern," Stone said. 

One saving grace for homeowners in Louisa is that the area's weather conditions usually help prevent wildfires. But experts say it just takes one dry, windy day to cause major problems like we saw earlier this year.

Reported by Adam Rhew
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