What you need to know about fire bans in the Greater Toronto Area

A number of municipalities have issued fire restrictions as dry weather persists

Cbc.ca
June 8, 2023
Sarah MacMillan

Fire Chief Andrew Zvanitajs spoke with CBC about the City of Vaughan’s fire ban and shared fire safety tips.

Listen to the clips here:

• https://vaughancloud.sharepoint.com/:u:/s/videos/EYrchy2RxJZEme1jw6ZBVHYBmqbbDmPrMri3ISIMSp8GKA?e=E6vbsS
• https://vaughancloud.sharepoint.com/:u:/s/videos/EYrchy2RxJZEme1jw6ZBVHYBmqbbDmPrMri3ISIMSp8GKA?e=E6vbsS

The online article is below.

A number of municipalities in the Greater Toronto area are warning residents not to light any open-air fires as dry weathers persists in Ontario.

Provincial fire restrictions are in effect for much of the province, covering most of northern Ontario and stretching south into the Muskoka District and Haliburton County. But closer to Toronto, many individual municipalities have also issued their own restrictions.

In recent days, Brampton, Caledon, Vaughan, Aurora, Newmarket, Whitby and Uxbridge have all implemented fire bans.

"The lack of rain and the really dry condition-- it's just gotten to the point where, should a grass fire occur, it would be very difficult to control," said Samantha Hoffman, deputy fire chief of community safety with Caledon Fire and Emergency Services.

The fire ban in Caledon means no new fire permits will be issued and any existing permits are not to be used. That means no bonfires or other recreational fires, no agricultural burns and no other open fires are permitted, until the ban is lifted.

No campfires, but barbecues OK
While open fires are banned, the use of barbecues is still permitted in communities above where bans are in place. However, fire officials urge caution.

"Never leave a barbecue or a charcoal grill unattended. It just takes a second for the wind to kick up and a spark to jump onto your lawn, onto a deck," said Vaughan fire chief Andrew Zvanitajs.

Zvanitajs said this week, fire crews in Vaughan responded to three grass fires within just two hours.

Close up of burgers and sausages on a grill, with a hand holding a spatula.
Residents are allowed to use barbecues during the fire bans in Brampton, Caledon, Vaughan.

Anyone planning to venture beyond the GTA to go camping should also be aware that many provincial parks are currently under fire bans. That means no campfires, candles, charcoal barbecues or biomass fuel stoves.

Campers can cook food on liquid gas camping stoves, and propane barbecues may also permitted.

Monitoring conditions 'day by day'
In question period on Wednesday, Premier Doug Ford urged Ontarians not to light campfires as forest fires continue to burn out of control.

Ford said the province will "throw every resource we can to put these fires out."

Forest fire smoke envelops Toronto, bringing poor air quality, pollution
Fire officials in the GTA are continuing to monitor conditions and say it's hard to predict how long restrictions will in effect.

"It really is a day by day, we check the weather, we pray for rain. And until some of this dryness is rectified with water, we will have the burn ban in place," said Hoffman in Caledon.

She also warned that residents who disobey fire bans could face fines.