MAPLETON – Fire cheif Chris Harrow presented a draft open fires bylaw to Mapleton council during its meeting on Oct. 22.
He said the changes to the bylaw aim to align Minto, Wellington North and Mapleton’s burn bylaws.
Mapleton’s bylaw is “fairly old,” he noted, and needs updating “to reflect the more modern times in open-air burning.
Rules around distances between burns and structures are set to tighten, as are rules around what can be burned and when burns are permitted.
“If there’s winds above 10km an hour we can say no burning,” Harrow said, “and also if there’s high humidity, smoke doesn’t go anywhere and it causes a lot of health problems to people around.”
Mayor Gregg Davidson asked how people will know if winds or humidity become too high after they have been issued a burn permit.
Harrow said “the onus will be on the home owner to know – it’s through Environment Canada, and it says if the wind is above 10km an hour and blowing smoke around … you’re not allowed to burn, and the same thing if Environment Canada says the humidity … is a certain level, that is above our bylaw, it will be up to them to not burn.”
Burning plastics and tires will not be allowed – these materials should be dropped off at waste facilities where they will be “treated appropriately,” Harrow said.
Residents will only be allowed to “burn clean wood or clean materials that are not harmful to the environment,” he said.
The permit application process is set to move to an online burn permit software system, which Harrow said will lead to more accurate data and reports, including how many permits are issued in a year, how many each property applies for, and what is being burned.
The online software would also give fire fighters the ability to see burn permits from the tablets in their trucks, Harrow noted.
The software would also enable officials to send out electronic notices when wind levels or humidity are too high for open-air burns, Harrow said.
Anyone without access to a computer or the internet will be able to call the municipal office and staff will log in and register the permit through the software for them, he noted.
In the draft bylaw, permits are valid for one month, rather than the current one-week duration.
The bylaw will be returned to council at a future date for consideration. If passed, it will be effective Jan. 1.
Information about the changes will be distributed to Mapleton residents before then.
