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State fire officials are reminding residents to take precautions to protect their homes and natural areas during Fall Forest Fire Hazard Season, which runs October 1 through December 15.

“During the late fall through early spring, since everything goes dormant, the leaves fall, the grass dies down and all that stuff is technically dry,” said Radcliff Deputy Fire Marshal Tommy Crane. “Yeah, we may have some rain, some snow, but the grasses and a lot of the brush are still technically dry because they’re dormant.”

During Fall Forest Fire Hazard Season, burning is prohibited within 150 feet of woodland or brushland between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. If you plan to burn debris, only burn natural vegetation during evening hours when conditions are less windy, keep fire tools handy, and never leave a fire unattended.

Crane says consider alternatives to burning such as limb removal and leaf pickup services offered by the cities. Always check with your local fire department ahead of any burning.

“Anytime you’re burning, whether it’s in this restricted time or whatever time of year it is, always check to make sure with your local ordinances on what is allowed and what’s not allowed because we want to take care of our neighbors and we want to make sure that we don’t burn down anybody else’s wooded area or anything like that,” Crane said.

More information is available on the Kentucky Division of Forestry’s website.

Area cities were included in project funding to address sewer overflow and stormwater needs in rural communities.

According to a release from the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet, “the infrastructure projects receiving funding will make use of plant or soil systems, permeable surfaces, stormwater harvest and reuse, or landscaping to manage stormwater and reduce flows to sewer systems or to surface waters.” 

The City of West Point will receive $300,000 for work at Veterans Park.

“It’s going to create a bioswale and a rain garden in the Veterans Park, where we have a really low spot where water tends to accumulate anyway, and the purpose of this grant is to clean that up and also reduce the runoff into the river,” said West Point Mayor Richard Ciresi.

The City of Vine Grove will receive $270,605 for the Rose Creek Stream Restoration Project.

“We’ve had issues with Rose Creek, I would probably say, for at least 20 years, so we have been trying to get the funding together to remedy the issue that we have going on in that area, so to me, this is amazing,” said Vine Grove Mayor Pam Ogden.

The funding comes from the Sewer Overflow and Stormwater Reuse Municipal Grant Program. Projects are anticipated to be completed by September 2028. Learn more on the Kentucky Division of Water’s website.