With Massachusetts' open burning season beginning Wednesday, officials are urging residents to take safety seriously on the heels of an unprecedented fall fire season locally and the wildfires that continue to devastate southern California.
Open burning season runs from January 15 through May 1 in communities that allow for it. Burning requires a permit issued by your local fire department, restricted between the hours of 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., and must be at least 75 feet from all dwellings.
Only certain materials can be burned, including brush, cane, driftwood, residential forestry debris, fruit tree and bush prunings, raspberry stalks, infected bee hives, trees and brush from agricultural land clearing, and fungus-infected elm wood. It is illegal to burn leaves, grass, hay, stumps, tires, household trash, construction materials, demolition debris, or brush, trees, cane, or driftwood from commercial or industrial land clearing.
Open burning is prohibited year-round in the following communities: of Arlington, Belmont, Boston, Brookline, Cambridge, Chelsea, Chicopee, Everett, Fall River, Holyoke, Lawrence, Lowell, Malden, Medford, New Bedford, Newton, Somerville, Springfield, Waltham, Watertown, West Springfield, and Worcester.
In October and November, hundreds of brush fires broke out in Massachusetts as the state suffered through drought conditions. It was a record-shattering season in a state where the month of October typically sees an average of 15 wildland fires. Typically, spring is the worst season for wildfires in the commonwealth, with April averaging around 28, according to data from the Department of Conservation and Recreation Bureau Forest Fire Control and Forestry.
“This fall, residents across Massachusetts saw just how quickly outdoor fires can grow out of control,” said Massachusetts Chief Fire Warden David Celino. “Right now, California is facing an even worse crisis with devastating fires consuming entire neighborhoods. Please don’t risk a fire that puts you, your home, or your community at risk. Burn only approved materials and always get a permit from your local fire department first.”
In southern California, at least 24 people are dead and tens of thousands remain under evacuation orders or evacuation risk as multiple wildfires rage across the region.
A large percentage of wildfires in the U.S. are caused by human activity, according to the National Parks Service, though they can also be caused naturally by things like lightning strikes.