ELKINS W.Va. (WVDN) – Effective immediately, building, maintaining, attending, or using a wood or charcoal fire or campfire is prohibited on all National Forest lands, roads, and trails within the confines of the Dolly Sods Wilderness. The area incorporated into this restriction is within the Monongahela National Forest, Cheat-Potomac Ranger District, Randolph, Grant and Tucker Counties, West Virginia.
The purpose of this fire restriction is to protect public health and safety and natural resources by prohibiting recreational fires during periods of high fire danger. West Virginia is in a prolonged drought leading to decreased fuel moistures across the forest. Current and predicted weather shows little to no relief heading into the fall season. In addition, any fire starting in the wilderness would prove difficult to suppress.
Wilderness has restrictions in place already that make suppressing fires more difficult than non-wilderness areas. Dolly Sods has the added complexity of being a known unexploded ordinance area, further hampering firefighting tactics and endangering the welfare of the public and emergency responders.
Further information may be obtained at the Cheat-Potomac Ranger District Office at 304-478-3251, and at the National Forest Supervisor’s Office at 304-363-1800.
