M.D. of Taber declares fire ban

By Nikki Jamieson
Taber Times
njamieson@tabertimes.com

Hold those matches. As of March 9, a fire ban is in effect for the Municipal District of Taber.

The only fires that can be set, until further notice, include fires set in municipal landfills, fires contained within approved facilities and appliances in designated camping and recreational areas and burning barrels with a wire mesh screen no larger than 7mm or 1/4 inch in size.

“One comment, from the four fire chiefs in the M.D,” said Derrick Krizsan, CAO for the M.D. “They would like the fire ban to remain on until there is enough green growth to sort of (sustain) long term growth.”

There are three ratings for fire bans:

* Fire Advisory, which simply advises people that there is a higher risk of fire

* Fire Restriction, which places restrictions on the types of fire set and restricts or cancels fire permits

* Fire Ban, which bans almost every type of fire and fire permits are cancelled

“It makes sense, considering how dry it is,” said Krizsan. “People are used to this. They know why it’s on there.”

There is also a fire ban in place for the Town of Taber, for all fires except backyard pit fires in accordance with Burning Control Bylaw 4-99. All fire permits are invalid, and the ban will be lifted once conditions change to reduce the Extreme Fire Hazard.