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AUGUSTA – The Maine Forest Service is cautioning towns and residents against using third-party non-sanctioned online burn permit systems after at least two fires this spring that likely would not have happened if the officially sanctioned state online burn permit system had been used.
The Forest Service mailed letters in June to about 80 town managers and fire chiefs in towns that use private online burn permit systems requesting that each community “immediately discontinue its use of these (privately owned electronic burn permit) systems.” Most have already complied and are using the official state system at www.maineburnpermit.com, which has been in place since 2005, issuing more than 88,000 online burn permits.
While most towns initially adhered to Forest Service request, as the Fourth of July holiday approached, some of the subscribers to the privately owned online burn permit systems allowed burn permits to be issued. The Forest Service is concerned about escaped brush pile fires and the use of illegal permits.
State fire safety officials have learned that at least one system has continued to issue permits despite the notification that their system is not legal under current Maine state law, which the Forest Service recently asked the state attorney general’s office to review.
The law only allows state owned online burn permit systems to be used. Maine towns and residents are warned not to use the illegal third-party systems because there is a question about liability should a permit issued by a privately owned system result in an escaped wildfire that destroys property or causes injury and or death. The burn permit, which is a legal document, is also based on local conditions and if the state system is not used, it is possible that a person with no background or training in fire safety may approve the permit.
The Forest Service said that escaped brush piles are the leading cause of wildfires in Maine. Several brush pile burns issued through privately owned systems have escaped. The most recent fire occurred in the town of China on April 15, when an escaped fire burned a barn and an apartment. The fire also knocked down power lines in the area.
Another fire occurred in Litchfield, on property of a person using a privately owned online burn permit system, on April 14. The threatened two structures and resulted in a summons for the landowner. In both cases, the wildfires occurred because the permits through the privately owned online systems were issued during the day, which is when most escaped fires occur.
In 2012, careless issuing of permits through a private online system resulted in a wildfire in a town in central Maine. According to the ranger, the fire chief “forgot to turn off the permit system” and allowed it to issue electronic burn permits on a class 3 (high fire danger) day in the fall. One of the fires escaped, and the local fire department was called in to contain it. This would not have happened with the state system, because it automatically shuts down on a class 3 or higher day.
The Maine Forest Service online burn permit system does not allow burning until after 5 p.m. when the wind dies down and the temperature drops.
There are only two ways to get a valid permit in Maine. One is a paper permit provided to towns by the Maine Forest Service at no cost. The other is through the online system developed by the director of the Maine Forest Service. Municipalities can adopt additional permits through ordinance, but the Maine Forest Service permit is still required. No other permit is authorized by statute and individuals burning without one of the two Maine Forest Service permits are in violation of Maine law and may be responsible to pay suppression costs should their fire escape.
It is proven to be a safe and convenient system and has greatly improved our fire prevention efforts, the Forest Service said. The system only allows burning on class 1 or 2 days after 5 p.m., when the risk of an escaped fire is lower.
The Maine online burn permit system allows forest rangers and town fire Wardens to monitor all permits issued via email or text messaging. In the event that fire conditions change, they also have the ability to shut the system down temporarily, block unauthorized users and increase the restrictions listed on the permit.
The permits cost $7 and are valid for 48 hours. Every town gets $2 of the permit fee.
