(a) No person shall openly burn or to cause or permit to be openly burned upon any property within the City any tires, tar paper, solid waste, garbage, paper, leaves, limbs, branches, brush or any other substance whatsoever; provided, that it shall not be unlawful to burn charcoal for the purpose of outdoor cooking; provided further, that it shall not be unlawful to burn a small open attended fire for protection during an emergency situation; and provided further, open burning shall not be used for waste disposal purposes; There shall be no burning of tree trunks, limbs, stumps, etc. over eight (8) inches in diameter and the volume shall be of the minimum size for the intended purpose; Vegetation to be burned shall be well dried for a minimum of ten (10) days, be piled so as to promote combustion, and have a ten (10) foot safety strip around the fire; The fuel chosen to minimize the generation and emission of air contaminants; No open burning shall be conducted on Sunday or in windy or extremely dry conditions; Open burning shall be confined to the period from 7:00 am to 4:00 pm, except during the periods between March 1 - May 31 and October 1 - December 31 when "open burning" shall be confined to the period from 4:00 pm to 7:00 am; and the City Council may delegate to the Fire Chief authority to issue such permits in the name of the City Council; and it shall be unlawful for any person to violate or fail to comply with any permit issued hereunder by the City Council or by the Fire Chief in the name of the City Council. Applications for open burning shall be submitted in writing at least ten (10) days before the fire is set.
(b) Location Restricted. No person shall kindle or maintain any bonfire or rubbish fire or authorize any such fire to be kindled or maintained unless
(1) The location shall not be less than fifty (50) feet from any structure and adequate provision is made to prevent fire from spreading to within fifty (50) feet of any structure, or
(2) The fire is contained in a waste burner, of a type approved by the Fire Chief, located safely not less than fifteen feet from any structure; provided, that no bonfire or rubbish fire shall be kindled or maintained on any part of the streets, sidewalks, public squares or other public places in the City.
(c) Attendance of Open Fires. Any open burning shall be constantly attended by a competent person until such fire is extinguished. Fire extinguishing tools and materials shall be available for immediate use.
(d) Fire Chief May Prohibit. The Fire Chief shall prohibit burning which will be offensive or objectionable due to smoke or odor emissions when atmospheric conditions or local circumstances make such fires hazardous. The Fire Chief shall order the extinguishment, by the permit holder or the fire department, of any open burning which creates or adds to a hazardous or objectionable situation.
(e) A written Open Burning Permit effective for two (2) weeks shall be obtained at City Hall for ten (10) dollars and must be in the possession of those performing the open burning. It shall be unlawful for any person within the City to burn without a permit or to violate or fail to comply with the rules and regulations of the Permit.
(Ord. 215. Passed 10-19-10.)