Agricultural burning is permitted by the City of Kelowna between Oct. 30 and April 30 for growers who obtain an appropriate burn permit from the Kelowna Fire Department. Burning is only allowed on days when the venting index permits such a burn. An applicant can obtain a permit to burn prunings or a land clearing permit from the fire department prior to any burning. The prunings permit is issued for a fee and allows the applicant to burn only prunings. The land clearing permit permits the removal of trees for the purpose of switching their crop, fuel mitigation, disposing of diseased trees or expanding the agricultural area into forested area. It does not permit trees to be burnt for development purposes. Trees which are burnt must either sit for 2 years , must be incinerated in a trench with an approved air curtain burner or must be chipped. The Kelowna Fire department has experienced several calls recently where the applicant has purchased a prunings permit but was conducted land clearing. Consequently, the fire department has issued bylaw offence notice tickets to the property and banned them from burning for a predetermined amount of time. The fire department has also attended three fires this year where permit holders were burning treated fence posts and garbage. The fire department attended a fire last week in South East Kelowna where an orchard that had a prunings permit was burning several yards of construction material. The burn permit has since been revoked. The fire department and the BC Conservation Officer Service are jointly investigating the incident. This week, tickets were issued following three separate burn permit infractions. Each ticket was for $345. The fire department has contacted the BC Fruit Growers Association to remind its members that they must adhere to the permit conditions otherwise their burn privileges will be revoked. Conservation Officers enforce regulations under the Environmental Management Act and the Open Burning Smoke Control Regulation (OBSCR), which aims to ensure open burning is done with minimal risk to human and environmental health, including not compromising air quality for area residents. “Every year, the COS receives open burning complaints in locations across B.C. With spring upon us, we will likely receive more,” said Kelowna Conservation Officer Ken Owens. “We encourage all residents and businesses to familiarize themselves with the rules and ensure they are taking the necessary steps to protect the public and environment.” The City of Kelowna can issue penalties to non-compliant fires and conservation officers can address non-compliance from an environmental perspective. “Excess smoke from improperly seasoned trees or smoke from treated fence posts impacts not only our community but the environment as a whole. This partnership can ensure that non-compliant persons adhere to local bylaws as well as provincial acts,” said Paul Johnson, Fire Prevention Officer with the Kelowna Fire Department. Johnson reminds everyone that burning is prohibited in the City of Kelowna without an approved permit. That permit is only issued for agricultural purposes within our community. Woodburning backyard fire pits are not permitted within our City while propane and and charcoal briquettes are permitted. Anybody found in non-compliance will be issued a minimum $345 fine. For more information and fire prevention tips, visit kelowna.ca/fire. For more information about the OBSCR, visit https://tinyurl.com/3nxu5yhy | 
