Town Of Halton Hills Lifts Fire Ban

HALTON HILLS, ON – Effective Monday, May 4, the Town will lift the fire ban which has been in effect since March 29. In making the decision, Town administration considered the ability of the Fire Department to manage their response to calls arising from grass fires as well as the COVID crisis. Community need to get rid of material during this time of spring clean up was also considered. “I know that with the May 24 weekend approaching, our rural residents will want to clear their properties and lifting the burn ban supports this," said Mayor Rick Bonnette. “To everyone who respected the Town’s earlier ban, I thank you; we have good reasons for making these decisions.” Fire crews were recently involved in managing three large grass fires that arose from illegal burning. “We put the ban in place to minimize the potential for grass fires and calls of burn complaints so as to reduce firefighters’ contact with the public and ensure their availability to respond to higher priority calls while in the COVID -19 situation,” said Chief Administrative Officer Brent Marshall. The lifting of the burn ban applies only to persons who currently hold a valid open air burn permit. Persons with an expired permit may renew online; fire stations are not open to the public. New applications for burn permits will not be processed as site inspections are not being conducted during the current COVID-19 crisis. Burn permit holders are reminded to adhere to the rules/conditions listed on the back of their permits which includes: - Checking haltonhills.ca to ensure no ban in place due to adverse weather conditions. - Burning only clean dry material (no leaves or brush in the urban area and no garbage, rubber, plastics). - Adherence to the fire size specified in permit and always attending the fire. Penalties are applicable for non compliance to the rules for burning or those who burn without a valid permit. Learn more at haltonhills.ca