An arial view of the fire in Chester Grant. Photo - NS Lands and Forestry Twitter
The Department of Forestry will be issuing its daily burn advisories starting Monday as wildfire season has officially begun.
The province lists March 15- October 15 as wildfire season, which is when the risk of fires starting and spreading is at its highest.
“The spring warm-up is right around the corner. It’s easy to go online or follow social media to quickly see if burning is permitted or not in your area,” said Lands and Forestry Minister Chuck Porter. “Following the burn restrictions and knowing municipal bylaws will help keep people safe and reduce the risk of wildfires.”
Burn advisories can be viewed on the BurnSafe map. It shows provincial restrictions, which cover domestic brush burning and campfires. Restrictions do not apply to campfires in licensed private, municipal or provincial campgrounds with proper campfire facilities.
Restrictions are also available by a recorded message by calling the toll-free phone line at 1-855-564-2876 (BURN).
Burn warnings can also be seen at some Department of Forestry Offices where they have signage posted outside.
The Department of Forestry Twitter account also posts the daily burn advisories at 3 p.m.
The advisories that are posted daily will list a county and its daily risk which is represented by either green, yellow or red. If a county is shown in green, burning is permitted after 2 p.m., yellow indicates burning is permitted after 7 p.m, and red means burning is not permitted that day.
The advisories are based on data the province collects on wind, rain, temperature and humidity data from more than 30 stations across the province each day to calculate fire risk and determine if burning is restricted.
Last year, provincial firefighters fought 171 wildfires in the spring and summer months of which almost all have been traced back to human activity.
