Man charged in connection to 75-acre Henrico brush fire

HENRICO COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — The Henrico County Fire Marshal’s office has charged a man for accidentally causing the 75-acre brush fire that expanded through the Varina area on Monday, June 24.

According to Henrico Fire officials, the man was charged with carelessly destroying property by fire after it was found he was burning paper products in a burn barrel. He attempted to put out the fire, but it spread quickly due to the ongoing dry spell across Virginia .

According to the county, Henrico Fire utilized more than 25 different types of technical machinery provided by the Department of Forestry, Dominion Energy, Henrico Police and a local farmer to establish a fire-line barrier and prevent the fire from reaching four homes.

Even though the fire was ruled accidental, the resources utilized on scene and the damage caused, the man charged was issued a summons and released. His court date has not been scheduled yet.

“Henrico Fire urges anyone that sees a brush fire to call 911 immediately so we can send appropriate resources as soon as possible. As seen in this instance, it only takes seconds for a small ember or ash to ignite dry vegetation or brush and spread very quickly,” officials said.

On Monday, June 24, the Department of Environment Quality (DEQ) in coordination with Virginia Drought Monitoring Task Force, issued a drought warning advisory for 12 counties and 95 counties and cities in Virginia. As of Thursday, June 27, both warning and watch advisories are still in place .

The DEQ says it is working with local governments, public water works and those in affected areas to ensure drought response plans are being followed.

The department is asking people across the state to minimize our water use, monitor drought conditions and detect and repair leaks to help protect water supplies.

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