Safe Burning

Help to protect your home and community from the threat of fire by following these safe burning practices:  

• Make sure you have a valid fire permit
• If a fire ban is issued, your fire permit will be suspended or cancelled and you must extinguish your fire
• Do not leave any fire unattended
• Do not burn in winds more than 12 km per hour
• Keep an adequate water supply or equipment nearby in case you need to put the fire out quickly
• Position your burn barrel/incinerator at least 30 metres away from any structures or standing timber. View our  recreational fire pit and burn barrel specifications for more information.
• Do not burn any prohibited debris that is inflammable waste because it may result in the release of dense smoke, offensive odours or toxic substances.

Prohibited debris includes:

• Animal manure
• Pathological waste
• Non-wooden material
• Combustible material in automobile bodies
• Tires
• Rubber or plastic
• Used oil

Safe burning when clearing land

If you plan on having clearing land with a fire, follow these tips to prevent it from getting out of hand:

• Avoid building piles in muskeg areas
• Use a brush rake or excavator to build piles
• Build windrows across the direction of the prevailing wind
• Try to eliminate as much dirt from the roots and pack the windrows as tight as possible
• Ensure that windrows are not longer than 60 metres (200 feet)
• Ensure that a minimum 8 metre (25 feet) break is created between the ends of each windrow
• Ensure that all windows/piles are 25 metres (75 feet) from standing timber
• Ensure that a minimum of 15 meters (50 feet) bare mineral soil guard is created around all windrows/piles

For more information, see our safe burning distances and other requirements and view our fire prevention information.