By PHYLLIS ZORN

Staff writer

Tougher burn regulations proposed by six county fire chiefs will be the topic of a 6 p.m. Friday meeting at Marion County Lake Hall.

County fire chiefs are proposing several changes to the county’s burn resolution in order to make burning safer for both landowners and firefighters.

Fire chiefs from Peabody, Lincolnville, Hillsboro, Marion, Lehigh, and Burns asked county commissioners to replace the existing burn resolution in February.

Burning is now allowed when winds are less than 20 mph, the burn is continually supervised, means to control or extinguish the fire are at hand, the burn does not create a safety hazard such as smoke blowing toward a roadway or airport, the sheriff’s office has been notified, and local authorities have not imposed a burn ban.

Fire chiefs want property owners to consult the rangeland fire index and have 250 gallons of water available with a pump capable of 100 psi output.

They also propose giving fire chiefs authority to declare temporary burn halts in their districts and the county emergency management director authority to halt burning countywide. They recommend imposing fines and restitution costs for failure to notify the sheriff’s office they intend to burn or not complying with the fire regulation.

The proposal also includes a time limit between telling the sheriff’s office a burn will be started and igniting the fire.

“We put in there as a recommendation a one-hour window,” Lincolnville fire chief Lester Kaiser said. “You will have one hour to begin ignition. If you don’t start burning within one hour, you’ll have to call again.”