Residents can now apply for a recreational or general burn permit online. 

If you do not have an email address to apply for a permit please contact Fire Administration at 905-985-2384. 

Owners of properties that are over 10 acres in size, farms, businesses and campgrounds or trailer parks can now apply for an oversize, farm or specialty burn permit online. 

The Township of Scugog's Open Air Burning By-law regulates burning in the community. There are several categories of burning, including:

  • General open air burning
  • Recreational burning
  • Oversize burning
  • Farm burning

You need a burn permit for all burning in Scugog. 

Guidelines for general and recreational burns are listed below. A list of frequently asked questions about burning is also available. 

To subscribe to burn ban alerts, please visit our Township news subscription page. 

 General open air burns
We allow open air burning during daylight hours only. Open air burning is for burning brush and wood. Open air burn sites must:
  • Be a maximum of 1 m3 (3ft by 3ft by 3ft) in size
  • Be at least 15 m (50 ft) away from any structures, overhead wires and roadways
  • Be at least 7.5 m (25 ft) away from flammable vegetation in all directions
  • Have a means to extinguish the fire
  • Be attended by a capable adult at all times
  • Be extinguished by dusk

 Recreational burns
Recreational burns are small campfires for burning wood for recreational purposes. This type of burning is allowed between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 12:00 midnight. Recreational burn sites must:
  • Have a base size no larger than 0.5 m (20 in by 20 in)
  • Be at least 5 m (16.5 ft) away from any structure
  • Be at least 15 m (50 ft) away from any overhead wire or roadway
  • Be at least 5 m (16.5 ft) away from flammable vegetation in all directions
  • Be extinguished by midnight.

 Bans

The Scugog Fire and Emergency Services will issue a burn ban when there is very dry weather or poor air quality in the community. Burn ban notices will appear on our website and in the local media. The notice will let you know which types of burning are banned. These burn bans are for your safety and we ask that you follow them.

Under Part 4 Enforcement and Penalties of the Open-Air Burning By-law 32-18, those having a fire during a burn ban can be charged under the Provincial Offences Act and will also be responsible for the costs of all work performed.

 Limitations

Please note that only wood and/or brush are to be burned. As per the Open-Air Burning by-law, no person shall burn any material that is normally collected under the municipality's garbage, blue box or yard waste collection programs. Furthermore, no person shall burn petroleum products, plastic, rubber, household garbage, building material, demolition material or wood by-products.

Complaints
Guidelines for all burning are included in the e-mail you receive confirming that your burn permit application has been processed. If the Fire and Emergency Services responds to complaints about burning and they find you are not following these rules, you may be charged for the services used to respond to the complaint, including trucks and staff costs. We also have the right to revoke your burn permit, if necessary.

Be a good neighbour and make sure that smoke from your burn is not drifting on to others' property. Your neighbours have a right to complain about your burn if the smoke is causing an issue on their property.

If you need to file a burn complaint, please dial 9-1-1 to reach our dispatch and it will be addressed accordingly. 

For more information please email fire@scugog.ca or call Fire Administration at 905-985-2384.