Virginia's statewide burning law goes into effect this Saturday. Its from February 15 to April 30, prohibiting outdoor burning between midnight and 4 p.m. Violation of the law is a Class 3 misdemeanor with a fine of up to $500. The law applies to outdoor burning within 300 feet of woods or dry grass, including debris burning, campfires, and open-air charcoal grills. The Department of Forestry is preparing for an earlier and longer wildfire season.
Hanover officials are advocating for the creation of a new regional body to oversee the Richmond water treatment plant following recent outages. Richmond Times and Dipatch report that Hanover residents experienced water outages and boil water advisories due to the plant failure. Hanover is exploring options to reduce reliance on Richmond as its primary water provider in the future.