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Washington County Board keeps burn ban in place after mixed reports on rainfall; will revisit in two weeks
Summary
After some supervisors said recent rains made a burn-ban termination premature while others flagged continuing drought conditions, the board voted to keep the previously declared burn-ban emergency in effect and directed staff to bring a termination resolution for consideration at the next meeting; motion passed unanimously.
The Washington County Board of Supervisors voted July 23 to maintain a previously declared burn-ban emergency and to revisit the question at its next meeting.
Board members debated whether recent, localized rainfall made the ban unnecessary. "Are we sure we want to do this? I've had 6 tenths ... I have not had these rains," an attending supervisor said, urging delay. Another supervisor replied that much of the county remains very dry, noting reports of creeks running low and farmers hauling water. "It's still extremely dry," the supervisor said.
County counsel and staff advised the board that to keep the declaration on the books they should affirm the original resolution; a substitute motion to retain the original emergency declaration and revisit termination at the next meeting was offered, seconded and approved on a voice vote with a recorded 7-0 result. The board also asked staff to prepare a termination resolution for future consideration rather than lifting the emergency immediately.
The action cited the county’s emergency authority under state law; staff referenced the applicable Virginia Code provision when moving to convene a closed session earlier in the agenda (Virginia Code §2.2-3711 was invoked for a later executive session on economic development). The board’s decision keeps the ban in effect pending further review at the next scheduled meeting.
