Town sends reminder for outdoor fire rules
The Town of Lakeshore is reminding people that outdoor fires are allowed during the summer as long as people follow the rules.
Anyone starting a fire must be at least 18. Campground fires can be no larger than 18 inches by 18 inches by 18 inches and are not allowed during rain, fog, smog alerts or fire bans. Campers must use only clean dry wood or charcoal. There must also be a bucket of water or garden hose at the site with someone keeping an eye on the fire at all times.
Those rules apply at Rochester Place, Lighthouse Yacht Club, Smugglers Marina, Cove Marina, Quinlan Marina and Stoney Point Trailer Park.
For residential camp fires, the maximum size is 24 inches by 24 inches by 24 inches and the centre of the fire must be a minimum of 10 feet from hedges, fences and buildings. The centre of the fire must also be at least 15 feet from property lines.
They are not allowed when wind could cause smoke annoyance to neighbours. They’re also not allowed during rain, fog, smog alerts or fire bans, and they’re not permitted on or near construction sites.
Only clean dry wood or charcoal is permitted for fuel. There must be a bucket of water or garden hose on site with someone keeping an eye on the fire.
The same goes for fires in 45-gallon drums. For those fires, the centre must be at least 10 feet from hedges, fences and buildings, and 15 feet from property lines.
They must also have a wire mesh cover with maximum grid openings of a quarter inch.
These fires are also not allowed when wind could cause smoke annoyance to neighbours, during rain, fog, smog alerts and fire bans. They are also not allowed on or near construction sites, on highways, in ditches and on commercial, industrial or municipal properties.
For open burns larger than a camp fire, people must get permission from the fire department. The same rules apply for wind, rain, fog, smog alerts, fire bans, construction sites, highways, ditches and commercial, industrial and municipal sites.
Open burns are also not allowed after sunset or before sunrise.
There must be sufficient equipment or water on the site to suppress the fire. Smoke cannot decrease visibility on highways. Open burns cannot be used to dispose of waste from commercial, industrial, construction or demolition sites.
A three inch by three inch by three inch wood pile requires a minimum distance of 21 feet from combustibles and property lines. Bigger fires require larger setbacks, which will be determined by fire administration.
Farmers can burn vegetable matter or vegetation including brush, wheat stubble, corn stubble, tree branches and stumps and vegetation debris.
Burning leaves, cat tails, phragmites, garbage, plastic, rubber and shingles is not permitted.