Photo courtesy of the City of Philippi Drought conditions could be seen in multiple local counties this week, including in Barbour County, above, where the Philippi Covered Bridge looked down on a nearly empty river bed.

PHILIPPI — Four local counties — Randolph, Barbour, Upshur and Pocahontas — are among the 10 in West Virginia currently identified as experiencing “extreme drought” conditions.

The latest U.S. Drought Monitor shows parts of 10 Mountain State counties in “extreme drought,” also including Hancock, Brooke, Braxton, Nicholas, Webster and Lewis counties.

Anyone driving by the Philippi Covered Bridge this week could see an extreme example of “extreme drought” conditions, as one could literally walk along the dried river bed beneath the bridge, with any hint of the Tygart River barely visible.

Late Friday afternoon, the City of Philippi issued a precautionary water boil advisory in effect for the following Barbour County areas: Hanging Rock, Maplebrook, Silent Grove, Anglin Run, McClellan Road, Cougar Drive and Silver Fox Drive. Residents in those areas are advised to boil water before consuming until further notice.

Also on Friday, the Randolph County Office of Emergency Management announced that water buffalo containers full of city water have been set up at the entrance of the WesVaco property, in Adolph.

Later in the day, a water buffalo was set up at the Valley Head Fire Department, for residents in the Valley Head, Point Mountain and Monterville areas.

Although the water buffalo containers are filled with city water, as a pre-caution, the water should be boiled before consumption, officials said.

On Friday, Delegate Jonathan Kyle, R-66th District, posted to social media that he had “spent the morning working with the Town of Mill Creek and West Virginia Rural Water on solutions for the drought situation in southern Randolph County. I’m thankful that Rural Water leadership immediately stepped up at my request and is sending assistance today to support the town and surrounding citizens.”

The Town of Mill Creek sent out the following information: “Due to a lack of rain and the level of the Mill Creek, which provides water for both towns, Mill Creek and Huttonsville, a temporary water connection has been made with the Huttonsville Public Service District. This connection will provide water until substantial rainfall occurs. A second tap is also being made in the near future. Reminder: Boil water advisory is still in effect until further notice.

“Also, as a kind note please remember it is everyone’s responsibility to be mindful of our water consumption and take care of the town, please use water efficiently to reduce unnecessary water usage, thank you so much!!!”

The National Weather Service states that Central West Virginia is experiencing extreme drought conditions, and that no rain has been observed across the area during the past week.

Much of the area has received less than 50% of the normal amount of rainfall over the past 30 days

The NWS also notes that there is are Increasing chances for rain next week, but the amount of precipitation is not expected to alleviate drought conditions.

During Thursday night’s Elkins City Council’s meeting, Elkins Fire Department Chief Steve Himes spoke on the lack of rain the area has seen and stated that he would be “really surprised” if there was not a statewide burn ban issued by or before Oct. 1.

“It’ll completely shock me if not, because with the temperatures we’ve had and the lack of precipitation… the one thing we really want to attention to pay attention to with that is, when the relative humidity is low, it’s a recipe for disaster,” Himes said. “So, when you’re told not to burn, don’t yell at the fire department, is all I have to say.”