Forest fire season is underway in New Brunswick, and officials are reminding the public that if you start a fire, you are liable for the damages it causes.
Despite Spring weather that has included rain and snow, the province has already experienced over a dozen fires. While a majority have occurred in southern areas, as the weather progresses towards Summer the northern regions will also be affected.
Roger Collet is a Wildfire Prevention Officer for the province who says the most typical fires occur as residents try to clear debris off their properties and lose control of the flames.
In New Brunswick, there are four different categories of burning. Category 1 is the most common and includes fires that have a diameter of three meters or less.
Any fire that exceeds the parameters of a Category 1 fire requires a burning permit.
Collet says that before starting a fire, ensure that it is permitted for that day, “The first thing we encourage them to do is to check with the fire watch page,” he said. Questions on the permits or the daily conditions can be directed to the toll-free line 1-866-458-8080.
Weather conditions heavily affect whether or not residents are permitted to burn, ” we’re looking for the winds to be down and the humidity to be up,” he adds that in the summer, how frequently it rains will also be monitored.
Regardless of your experience with fire, it’s important that you remain vigilant and avoid leaving any fire unattended.
“If you are having a fire even on a day that we allow it there’s still a chance it escapes,” said Collet.
Last year over 1356 hectares of forest land were burned in New Brunswick.
