Most of the state was under a “very high” fire risk warning as of Monday due to dry conditions, according to Vermont Emergency Management.
Only the central portion of the southern end of the state, including eastern Rutland and Bennington counties, and western Windsor and Windham counties, were under a lower-level “high” risk, the department wrote in a Facebook post. It warned Vermonters to avoid open burning, exercise caution with outdoor grills, campfires and machinery, and properly extinguish cigarettes.
Megan Davin, a spokesperson for the Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation, said three “very high” fire warnings had been issued so far in 2025. Meanwhile, there were 13 overall in 2024 and 13 in 2023. Dan Dillner, the state forest fire supervisor, said the current conditions were abnormal compared to the past 20 years. “I don’t know what normal is anymore,” he said.
Wildfires are supposed to be less common in the summer, when the state is usually lush and green, but they appear to be popping up more frequently, he said. In July, the state spent weeks fighting an 11-acre wildfire in Fair Haven. The last time a wildfire of that size had broken out in July was in 1988.
