Burn bans by state

Virginia burn bans, county by county

No single Virginia list exists for us to watch, so this page won't pretend to show you a live status. What it can do: tell you who declares a burn ban here and where today's answer actually lives.

Who declares a burn ban in Virginia

Virginia's baseline is the 4 p.m. burning law: from mid-February through April, no open burning before 4 p.m. within 300 feet of woods or dry grass. The Department of Forestry and local governments add emergency bans when drought demands it.

Statewide, start with the Virginia Department of Forestry . Locally, the county itself has today's answer — the courthouse, the fire marshal, the sheriff's office, or your fire department.

Rules change fast in dry weather — confirm with your county fire marshal or burn line before you light.

Why it might be dry enough to matter

Bans follow dry ground — see this week's drought picture, state by state.

Heading onto national forest land? County rules stop at the boundary — check the forest's fire restrictions and what stage 1 and stage 2 mean.

Every Virginia county

Each page below covers one county: who declares a ban there, where to check, and how dry the ground is running.