No rain? NO BURNING!

By Linda Lemmon
Town Crier Editor
No significant rain in a month and none on the horizon. And there’s a ban on burning. Well, no big deal. I’m not lighting a campfire.
Maybe not but how about:
Discarded smoking materials, sparks from power tools or from welding or from grinding or from chains dragging. Or sparks from a passing train or from downed power lines or from burn barrels or from grills or from campfires or from fireworks or from guns/rifles/muskets. Or from the catalytic converter on a vehicle on tinderbox grass/fields. Or from ATV’s or UTVs without spark arrestors.
Or from any lawn care equipment that might generate a spark.
One recent brush fire in Sterling was started by sparks from a lawnmower.
And it’s out of control in the blink of an eye.
In Putnam alone this past weekend there were at least seven outside fires reported, according to fire marshal Scott Belleville. One was from a woman who decided to burn some documents. Another was from a gentleman who lit a bonfire (not a campfire, a bonfire).
Belleville said on the first visit there’s a warning. If the town has to respond again, he said it’s a $200 fine — and that’s a promise. If the fine is not paid, the town will put a lien on the property.
How serious is every over-worked fire department? All the nearby departments have cancelled their live-burn fire training, Belleville said.
He added 6 inches of snow would be excellent.

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