Prescribed Winter Burns

Are you clearing brush, preparing a seedbed, or removing crop residue? Your objective will dictate the size, intensity, and timing of the burn.

• Make sure there are no fire restrictions in place at either the provincial or municipal level.
• Contact the fire guardian designated for your community. This person can help you determine where to build your burn piles, how big and how far apart to build them, and when the best conditions for burning will be. They'll also help ensure you have the proper paperwork in place to avoid a possible fine for an unpermitted burn.
• Never burn without the required permit.

• Ensure smoke warning signs are in place before burning within half a mile (800 m) of a roadway. For more information on smoke management and to acquire signs, contact your fire guardian.
• Read over the recommended practices for placement and instruction of a “Smoke Ahead” sign.

• A calm day is ideal. Watch the wind speed and direction closely—even a light breeze can push a fire quickly. 

• Snow cover helps, but dry, high winds can still carry embers long distances. 

• Always have a contingency plan if the weather shifts.

Before any spark flies, clearly define and establish a fire break around the entire burn area. This may involve ploughing, mowing, or wetting a strip of ground down to mineral soil, making sure it’s wide enough to contain the fire under anticipated conditions.

Brush piles or debris windrows should be free of soil, built to a maximum height of 3 metres, and surrounded by a fireguard or cleared land to prevent the spread of fire.

Before starting the full burn, light a small test fire within the fire break to see how the fire behaves under current conditions. Observe its spread rate, flame height, and smoke management.

Until the burn is officially out, it is not safe. Never leave a fire unattended. Have someone monitoring the burn the entire time – if it escapes, immediately report it to 310-FIRE.

• Only burn what you can control with the equipment and people you have available, and adjust your burning according to weather conditions.

• In winter, inversions can trap smoke close to the ground, creating hazardous conditions on nearby roads and for local residents. Burn when atmospheric conditions allow for quick smoke dispersion.
• Notify your neighbours and local authorities before lighting the fire.

Brush piles or debris windrows should be free of soil, built to a maximum height of 3 metres, and surrounded by a fireguard or cleared land to prevent the spread of fire.

• Spread any remaining material within the pile and soak with water as required.

• Check the area and ensure both heat and smoke are no longer being produced by the pile – it should be cool to the touch.

• Use water and hand tools to turn over and soak all smouldering material, particularly along the fire break. Steam means there is still heat; cold ground means it’s out

• Check your burn site multiple times after the visible flames are gone.

• Continue to patrol the burn site in the following weeks to ensure it has not reignited. A fire can appear completely out on the surface but continue to smoulder underneath.

• Even a burn done on frozen ground requires a spring check. A deep-seated smouldering fire can flare up once the snow melts and the winds return.
• Re-check the area once spring arrives to be certain it is fully extinguished.