Wildfire in West Virginia, November 1 to 28, 2001

Name: Wildfire in West Virginia, November 1 to 28, 2001
Start: 2001-11-01T00:00
End: 2001-11-28T16:00
Location: West Virginia

November 1 to 28, 2001 · NWS RLX · 8 events in 8 counties and zones

The prolong stretches of Indian summer caused the autumn fire season to peak in November. Governor Wise imposed a statewide ban on all outdoor burning.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 8 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 8

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS RLX wrote it up.

The prolong stretches of Indian summer caused the autumn fire season to peak in November. Governor Wise imposed a statewide ban on all outdoor burning. That declaration was finally lifted on the 27th, after some much needed rain. Yet, a few fires even lingered into December. Smoke restricted visibility in the valleys of southern West Virginia. The WV Division of Forestry estimated over 450 individual fires during the month, burning roughly 37,600 acres. Total acreage affected during the whole autumn fire season was around 75,000 acres from over 800 fires. The state used 400 National Guard troops in 4 one week rotations. The state also used 2 small tanker aircrafts. The state was seeking money from FEMA to recoup part of its firefighting cost. The state estimated the brush and forest fires cost them approximately $300 per acre burned.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Charleston, WV wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Oct 31, 2:45 PM EST, 9 hours 15 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Oct 31, 2:45 PM EST, 9 hours 15 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON WV
245 PM EST WED OCT 31 2001

WRAPPING UP A DRY OCTOBER...BUT ACTUALLY OCTOBER 2000 WAS EVEN DRIER.

TOUGH PREDICTION ON DEW POINT AND WIND FOR THURSDAY.  NOT
MAJOR FEATURES FOR THE GENERAL PUBLIC...BUT KEY ELEMENTS FOR OUR
CONTINUED FIRE SUPPORT.  CONCERNING DEW PTS...THINK GUIDANCE BRINGS
DEW POINTS UP TOO QUICKLY ON THU.  BY FRI...ETA HAS 60 DEW
POINTS...AHEAD OF FRONT...I HAVE 50 TO 55 FRI.  CONCERNING WIND ON
THU...PROBLEM IS VEIL OF CIRRUS CUTTING DOWN ON HEATING AND MIXING.
FORECASTING WIND IN NOVEMBER IS TOUGH UNDER THESE SITUATIONS.  MAY
BE QUITE VARIABLE WITH OCNL GUSTS 20 MPH REACHING GRND.  ALL THINGS
CONSIDERED...HIGHEST FIRE DANGER ON THU.  SMOKE PLUMES WILL SPREAD N
TNGT UNDER INVERSION...THEN NE ON THU AFTN.

NO BIG CHANGES TO FRONTAL TIMING AND PCPN.  WILL BRING CHC AS
FAR EAST AS CKB-CRW-WILLIAMSON LINE BY 00Z SAT...THEN INTO MTNS
FRIDAY NIGHT.  SOME WEAK UPPER LEVEL SUPPORT FROM RIGHT REAR OF
JET MAX PULLING NE...INTO NEW ENGLAND. ANY RAIN WOULD BE WELCOMED...
BUT WILL BE HARD PRESSED TO GET MORE THAN QUARTER OF AN INCH.

...SATURDAY AND BEYOND...IN EXTENDED FCST...

12Z AVIATION SLIGHTLY WARMER THEN 00Z MRF IN MID PERIODS AND HAVE
MADE MINOR ADJUSTMENTS TO MOS MAX TEMPERATURES THEN. MRF HAS BEEN ON
THE COLD SIDE AS YOU GET INTO LATER PERIODS SO HAVE ALSO ADJUSTED
HIGH TEMPERATURES IN THE LATER PERIODS...ESPECIALLY WEDNESDAY AS
COLD FRONT APPROACHES.

MRF SLOWER THEN LAST RUN ON THE PRECIPITATION SO WILL CONTINUE TO
HOLD IT OFF BEYOND WEDNESDAY.

.RLX...
WV...NONE.
VA...NONE.
KY...NONE.
OH...NONE.

.END / BATTY + REZEK

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

8 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.

Wildfire, Boone

When: November 1, 12:00 AM EST to November 28, 4:00 PM EST
Where: Boone County, Countywide
Reported by: GOVT OFFICIAL
Coordinates: 38.023, -81.711 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Wildfire, Fayette

When: November 1, 12:00 AM EST to November 28, 4:00 PM EST
Where: Fayette County, Countywide
Reported by: GOVT OFFICIAL
Coordinates: 38.029, -81.081 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Wildfire, Kanawha

When: November 1, 12:00 AM EST to November 28, 4:00 PM EST
Where: Kanawha County, Countywide
Reported by: GOVT OFFICIAL
Coordinates: 38.337, -81.528 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Wildfire, Logan

When: November 1, 12:00 AM EST to November 28, 4:00 PM EST
Where: Logan County, Countywide
Reported by: GOVT OFFICIAL
Coordinates: 37.832, -81.935 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Wildfire, McDowell

When: November 1, 12:00 AM EST to November 28, 4:00 PM EST
Where: McDowell County, Countywide
Reported by: GOVT OFFICIAL
Coordinates: 37.379, -81.654 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Wildfire, Mingo

When: November 1, 12:00 AM EST to November 28, 4:00 PM EST
Where: Mingo County, Countywide
Reported by: GOVT OFFICIAL
Coordinates: 37.726, -82.135 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Wildfire, Raleigh

When: November 1, 12:00 AM EST to November 28, 4:00 PM EST
Where: Raleigh County, Countywide
Reported by: GOVT OFFICIAL
Coordinates: 37.771, -81.249 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Wildfire, Wyoming

When: November 1, 12:00 AM EST to November 28, 4:00 PM EST
Where: Wyoming County, Countywide
Reported by: GOVT OFFICIAL
Coordinates: 37.610, -81.549 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Wildfire: A fire burning in wildland vegetation, with its acreage and damage where known.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in West Virginia in 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history Warnings in West Virginia, November 2001

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5270365, 5270366, 5270367, 5270368, 5270369, 5270370, 5270371, 5270372.