DEC bans open burning until mid-May

Staff Reports Posted 15 March 2016 at 12:00 am

Photos by Tom Rivers – Barre firefighters Richard Barnard, right, and Amanda Dixon work to put out a brush fire last May 3 in Barre. The fire in a brush pile on Route 98 quickly spread to a nearby hedgerow and scorched about a quarter acre of land.

The NYS Department of Environmental Conservation has issued a burn ban beginning on Wednesday through May 14 for towns with fewer than 20,000 people.

Without snow cover, the state is at a high risk for wild fires in the coming weeks.

The DEC has advised that all open burning is prohibited in New York with several exceptions including the following:

Campfires less than 3 feet in height and 4 feet in length, width or diameter are allowed.

Small cooking fires are allowed.

Fires cannot be left unattended and must be fully extinguished.

Only charcoal or clean, untreated or unpainted wood can be burned.

Ceremonial or celebratory bonfires are allowed.

For more on the open burning ban, click here.

Carlton firefighters Tom Niehaus, left, and Chyenne Tackley man the hose while knocking down a brush fire on Route 98 on Aug. 29 near the Ricci Meadows Golf Course.