On Wednesday, the National Weather Service issued a wind advisory covering much of the Mid-Atlantic region. Areas in the Valley were expected to see up to 50 mph wind gusts.

Fire officials say weather like this can create an extra threat for wild fires.

Shawn Maddox, the Deputy Fire Marshal in Staunton, has seen first-hand how big a role windy weather can play in starting and spreading a fire.

"When it's this windy, it dries the materials out that are on the ground faster, the grass, the leaves, the branches that may have fallen, and once a fire does get started we obviously have to worry about the rate that it spreads with the wind," says Maddox.

He says that the wind can really complicate things.

"A wind fueled fire can easily overcome the operations that we're conducting," says Maddox.

With windy days, fire officials also say things that normally may not start a fire are more likely to do so.

"Throwing a cigarette out of the window, could be a camping fire, could be people starting to use their wood stoves this time of year, dumping their ashes out, the ashes could spread and start a fire," adds Maddox.

Kevin Wilkes, the Assistant Chief of the Swoope Fire Department, recalls a particular time a single cigarette butt started a fire.

"When I was working in Delaware before moving down here, it was a windy day and someone put out their cigarette in a mulch bed. After some time, it began to smolder and the mulch burned, and eventually much of the outside of the apartment complex was affected by the fire," says Wilkes.

John Campbell, from Virginia's Department of Forestry, says many fires in the state are started because of human error.

"Ninety-five percent of the fires we experience Virginia are started by humans, which means only five percent of the fires are started by lightning, or some other means," says Campbell.

Campbell points out that accidental fires are more likely on windy days.

"What we worry about is with the winds, any little fire that is contained or thought to be contained can easily blow away and those embers can travel a distance and light up something farther away than people think," says Campbell.

Maddox says, "If you are going to be outside having a recreational fire, take into account the wind and the weather. It does get dry this time of year, it is easy to catch the leaves on fire as they fall."

According to the Department of Forestry, the central region of Virginia, which includes the Shenandoah Valley, has seen more fires than any other region in the state this year. So far in 2009, there have been 258 fires in the central region alone.

The fall fire season officially begins October 15.