Fall 2024 27 Virginia Cooperative Extension (VCE) has developed a detailed resource page dedicated to help those who have been impacted by Hurricane Helene this fall. The resources include practical guides, emergency checklists, and educational materials designed to enhance resilience and ensure safety as well as information from government agencies including links to resources at county, state and federal levels. Visit the page online at https://ext.vt.edu/hurricane-relief.html. Virginia Dept. of Forestry (DOF) also provides guidance and resources specifically for timber and woodland owners on their website at dof.virginia.gov/disaster-relief. Here, visitors can find DOF area and consulting foresters, get information and answers to questions about Timber Casualty Loss claims on income tax, and download a topic information sheet provides the steps to take for assistance for forest landowners impacted by disasters. Burning Safety Tips Amid Dry Conditions Due to recent dry conditions in many areas of Virginia, the Virginia Dept. of Forestry (DOF) is providing tips for safe burning to avoid starting wildfires. DOF noted that the state has averaged less than one inch of rain for a month. Since leaves are falling and drying out, they can act as potent fuel for a wildfire. Virginians are urged check with their local fire department, the DOF office, or the Air Protection Authority (Virginia Dept. of Environmental Quality) to learn if there are any burning restrictions and if a permit is required. In addition, everyone is encourage to check the weather forecast. Never burn on dry or windy days because it is easy for fire to spread out of control. Keep your burn pile small or use a burn barrel with a 15-ft. radius around the barrel and at least a 25-ft. radius around a burn pile, and always have water, a bucket of water, a shovel, and dirt or sand nearby to extinguish the fire. Virginia law requires that you monitor a debris burn continually from start to finish, until the fire is completely out. If your fire escapes or gets beyond your control, call 911 immediately; even a slight delay may be disastrous. Virginia Tech’s Transportation Institute Receives Trucking Education Grants The Virginia Tech Transportation Institute recently received nearly $1 million in two grants from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to develop and enhance tractor-trailer educational programs. “These two grants will allow us to continue transforming our research into practice,” said Rich Hanowski, director of the institute's division of freight, transit, and heavy vehicle safety. “The outreach initiatives will directly leave an impact on drivers and are supporting our efforts to save lives.” Rebecca Hammond and her team were awarded $490,000 to support the development of a series of interdisciplinary training materials to educate truck drivers on advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS). In a separate grant, $455,000 was awarded to support the nationwide expansion of the institute's safer driving outreach program, Sharing the Road with Large Trucks. The program gives participants a first-hand experience of a semi-truck's blind spots from the driver’s perspective. The grant will allow the team to visit 90 schools in previously unvisited regions over the next two year and to attend additional community events and conferences. The grant also will support translating the program’s educational materials into Spanish, allowing the important safety-related information to reach an audience that may not speak or read English fluently.
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