CORNWALL – Under Cornwall’s new open air burning law, people caught with illegal fires in their backyard could be hit with a pretty stiff penalty of nearly half a grand.
The City of Cornwall started accepting applications for backyard fires on its website on Tuesday (Sept. 1).
The three season permits cost $100 – a season runs from May until the end of September.
Burning is only allowed between 6 p.m. and midnight and there are several other size and distance restrictions.
Under the new law, described by one councillor as a compromise, it will mean only 27 per cent of households or just over 4,000 properties will be eligible to even apply.
The law also gives the Cornwall fire department the ability to recoup its costs should it have to go out to a nuisance or illegal burn.
The minimum cost for the municipality to put out a fire if the resident doesn’t do it immediately when asked is $459.