Haliburton County’s fire chiefs are lifting its fire ban as the fire danger rating is dropped from extreme to high.
The change takes effect May 18 at 12:01 a.m., six days after it was issued. It comes after rain and cooler weather in recent days, according to Miles Maughan, captain and former fire chief at the Dysart Fire Department.
“The long range prediction says that we’re going to get a bit more rain the rest of this week,” says Maughan. “With that, everything’s greening up, so that lowers the indices for fire.”
Maughan says that although the total ban has been lifted, people still need to be careful with how they’re burning.
“People still should use caution whenever they’re burning outdoors, they should be in attendance to the fire at all times, and they should have something to extinguish it,” says Maughan. “If the conditions change rapidly, you don’t have time to grab water, you should have it right there.”
A daytime burning ban remains in effect for Haliburton County, meaning no fires are allowed between 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m..
Reach out to your area’s fire department for specifics on other rules that may apply.