NO DAYTIME BURNING.
Current Fire Danger Rating – MODERATE |
Call 1-877-847-1577 for a verbal version of the current Muskoka Forest Fire Danger Rating.
Are you wild-fire ready? Visit our Forest Fires/Wild land Fires to learn more.
About the Muskoka Fire Danger Rating
The Fire Danger Rating is a Muskoka-wide rating system monitored from April 1 to October 31 each year. This is the Forest Fire Danger Rating for Ontario Fire Zone RF 27 (District of Muskoka). The rating is verified daily and updated whenever the rating changes.
The Muskoka Fire Danger Rating is determined using the Fire Weather Index (FWI), an internationally used method for determining the risk of fires in open air. It uses several factors to determine the risk of the forest to certain fire types, such as:
- Relative humidity;
- Temperature;
- Previous 24-hour rain amount;
- Wind directions and wind speed; and
- Forest fuel type.
From this calculation the Forest Fire Danger Rating is made in consultation with the Fire Chiefs of the six area municipalities and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry.
What do the ratings mean?
Fire danger ratings range from low to a complete fire ban depending on conditions. Daytime burning is not allowed at all from April 1 to October 31, no matter what the rating is.
| Low |
|
Low danger of fire. You may conduct any municipally permitted fire activities. NO DAYTIME BURNING |
| Moderate |
|
Moderate danger of fire. Carry out permitted fire activities with caution. NO DAYTIME BURNING |
| High |
|
High danger of fire. Only absolutely necessary municipally permitted activities should be carried out. However, it is recommended that no burning should occur. NO DAYTIME BURNING |
| Extreme |
|
Extreme fire danger. Absolutely no burning of any kind should be carried out. NO DAYTIME BURNING |
| Fire Ban |
|
In some cases, the municipality should choose to issue a fire ban. When the fire ban is in place, no burning of any kind is permitted. Fireworks are not permitted. |
Open Air Burning
Open air burning |
|
Between April 1 and October 31 each year, open air burning is regulated by Burning Control By-law 2023-20. Daytime burning is not permitted. There are also size limits, clearance requirements, and fire control measures you must have in place as well as other provisions under the by-law which you must know if you decide to burn. To learn more visit gravenhurst.ca/burnbylaw or contact the By-law Department. The By-law Department is responsible for enforcing this by-law and you may be subject to prosecution if you are violating it. |
Open air burning invoice |
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Town Council has authorized cost recovery for our response to violations of the Burning Control By-law through the User Fees and Service Charges By-law. This cost recovery is separate from any enforcement action that may be taken under the Burning Control By-law by the By-law Department. The User Fees and Service Charges By-law authorizes us to recover costs by sending an invoice to the property owner when we attend a fire where it can be shown that this occurred because somebody chose to disobey the law. Invoices reflect a cost of $488.40 per hour per truck, which is the standard rate in Ontario, plus the cost of firefighter wages. Since we use volunteer firefighters, the cost of wages varies from day to day and from incident to incident. We do not respond to simple open air burning complaints where there is no threat to public safety. These are referred to the By-law Department for investigation. |
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