Oro-Medonte issues fire ban for all residents after multiple grass fires

Oro-Medonte fire crews on scene of a grass fire in the Line 293 & Line 5 area on Fri. April 14, 2023 (Jonathan Guignard/CTV News Barrie)

The Township of Oro-Medonte has issued a fire ban effective immediately after multiple grass fires this week.

The ban applies to all residents across the township, including those with open air burn permits, prohibiting any type of burning.

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"Effective immediately, we're implementing a burn ban," Hugh Murray, fire chief for Oro-Medonte Fire & Emergency Services, told CTV News. "We've raised our rating to a high danger level. We have a burn permit system in place. We had a big fire earlier in the week, but people are not paying attention to what they are doing, and it's taking all of our resources to deal with these things."

On Friday evening, crews were on their way to a grass fire on Line 15 when the deputy fire chief noticed smoke coming from the opposite direction. Several crews diverted to what ended up being a large grass fire in the area of Line 239 and Line 5.

Three crews were on the scene of the second fire, which the chief estimated spanned across at least four acres of property.

"Unfortunately, people aren't following [the rules], and they are burning things they shouldn't be burning," Murray said. "They don't have permits, so they don't know the rules, or they are not aware of the rules, and it's getting away from them. They are not prepared for it."

Rules for those with burn permits when they are valid include:

• Limited to certain types of material
• Must keep it to a certain size
• Must be able to extinguish the fire
• Winds cannot be strong
• Must be away from other combustibles

The township will alert residents when those with open air burn permits are allowed to resume burning activities.