Lake Waseosa Ratepayers' Association

In January, the Town of Huntsville passed a new by-law regulating open air burning. The full text of the by-law can be found on their website, and should be referred to: http://www.town.huntsville.on.ca/town_services/documents/bylaw_2008_12_burning.pdf

A short summary of some of the important points follows:

Barbeques are exempt from the by-law.

Campfires are limited to 2 feet by 2 feet in size, must be attended at all times, and can only consist of commercially produced charcoal, briquets or seasoned wood. They must be located at least 20 feet from the property line or any combustible structure. You must have a means of extinguishment at hand and windspeeds must be less than 30kph. Burning is restricted to 6pm to 8am from April through October.

Non-recreational burning is permitted subject to additional restrictions, notably a minimum distance of 100 meters from any dwelling. This would include burning of brush or leaves and similar wastes. Burning of kitchen waste, construction waste, painted wood, rubber, plastic, etc. is prohibited.

The OWNER of the property can be held liable, regardless of who lit the fire. The maximum fine is $5,000.

Fires can be banned altogether during times of high fire risk and individual fires can be ordered extinguished if the smoke is an irritant to neighbours or presents a hazard on nearby roads.

Again, please refer to the actual by-law if you have any doubts or questions. http://www.town.huntsville.on.ca/town_services/documents/bylaw_2008_12_burning.pdf