Several days of rain in the past week or so hasn’t been enough to end the fire ban that remains in effect across the province, nor on the municipal open air burning ban in Greater Sudbury.
The amount of rain also wasn’t enough to ensure Greater Sudbury could safely hold a July 1 fireworks display, Deputy Fire Chief Nathan Melin told Sudbury.com today.
“We were hoping for more rain this week but the accumulation just wasn’t there,” Melin said.
He expects the local municipal fire ban to remain in place until sometime after the Canada Day weekend.
Due to the cancellation, Science North has made some changes to its annual July 1 celebration. Now, outdoor live science shows and entertainment will run until 5 p.m., and the science centre will stay open to visitors until 7 p.m., offering half-price admission to Science North, IMAX, the Planetarium and the Dinosaur Discoveries exhibit.
Air quality may affect outdoor activities that day, so Science North urges folks to keep an eye on weather alerts.
As to the fire ban itself, Melin said most people are abiding by the open air burning ban and he is unaware of any charges being laid for violations.
The city tries to work with folks who breach the ban for the first time, Melin said. When the ban was first imposed a few weeks ago, he said the city did receive several complaint calls regarding backyard fires.
He said first time offenders are reminded of the open air burning ban, and reminded of the consequences for breaking it. Melin said that usually does the trick because the consequences can be very costly.
“Repeat offenders are charged a fee for service,” Melin said, explaining offenders are charged per truck that responds, which amounts to $600 per truck.
