Hot summer nights are perfect for enjoying backyard evening fires, but the rules across the region aren’t universal.
The only city in the area that allows open-air fires is Kitchener, and even that is with some provisions.
An open-air fire is any fire outside of a building, including fire and barbecue pits and chimineas.
Gas fires are permitted across the region.
In Kitchener, outdoor fires must be five metres away from any building, structure, fence or tree.
A fire pit can only be a metre wide, and the fire itself can only reach a half metre high.
Failing to comply with these can lead to fines up to $5,000.
As the region institutes water conservation calls due to hot and dry conditions, safe fires are particularly important.
Fire warnings currently dot southern Ontario, with many counties under burn bans.
The most recent information from the Canadian Wildland Fire Information System.
— William R. Hunter (@ChiefBillHunter) July 10, 2018
Fire Danger is a relative index of how easy it is to ignite vegetation, how difficult a fire may be to control, and how much damage a fire may do.
Our #BurnBan is still in effect. pic.twitter.com/RLPB2XmSsq
The spate of hot, dry weather has also led to extreme forest fires in northern Ontario.
Parts of Waterloo Region were under a severe thunderstorm watch Monday afternoon, the first possibility of large amounts of rain in weeks.
The Canadian Wildland Fire Information System is updated frequently.
With reporting from Marta Czurylowicz.
