This week’s featured question was submitted for an officer of the Tomahawk Police Department.
The question reads:”
“What are the rules regarding having fires in town as part of a get together? Do they have to be out by a certain time and is there any rules on what can and cant be burned?”

Answer as given by TPD Officer Alysia Watruba

Officer Alysia Watruba

“The City of Tomahawk has city ordinances regarding open burning. They can be found in Chapter 30. Not all sections in Chapter 30 are included in this answer. For further guidance Chapter 30 should be reviewed.”

Section 30-61 Restricted. No person shall burn leaves, rubbish, debris and dry grass within the city except as provided in this section.

Section 30-62 Open Burning Regulations 1. Prior approval.
a. Except as provide in 1(b)(i) of this section, all persons shall obtain authorization from the Fire Chief or his designee before any open burning within the limits of the City.
b. The following burning shall be permitted without authorization from the Fire Chief: i. Outdoor cooking.

2. Size of pile. The size of the pile to be burned shall not exceed four feet by three feet high.

3. Location. The location of the open burning shall be approved by the Fire Chief or his designee and either:
a. The pile of material being burned shall be at least 25 feet from any structure, wood or lumber pile, wooden fence, trees or brushes or provisions shall be made to prevent the fire from spreading to within 25 feet of such items; or
b. The fire shall be contained in an approved burner located at least 15 feet from any structure, wood or lumber pile, wooden fence, tree or bush.

4. Material for burning
a. Fuel for burning shall consist of dry material only and shall not be ignited with flammable or combustible liquids.
b. Material for open burning may not include rubbish, garbage trash and any material made of or coated with rubber, plastic, leather or petroleum based materials and may not contain any flammable or combustible liquids.

5. Supervision.
a. Open burning shall be constantly attended and supervised by a competent person at least 16 years of age until such fire is extinguished.
b. The person shall have readily available for use fire extinguishing equipment deemed necessary by the Fire Chief or his designee.
c. Any person who burns any material of any kind on his premises shall at all times keep the same under control and shall be responsible for any damage caused by the fire or fire products to any and all property.

6. Other regulations. Open burning shall also be subject to the administrative rules of the Department of Natural Resources.

Section 30-63 Prohibition.
“Outdoor burning shall be prohibited when the wind velocity exceeds nine miles per hour or local circumstances make the fire potentially hazardous. Local circumstances include, but not limited to, thermal inversions, ozone alerts and very dry conditions.
No person shall burn any leaves or debris of any kind within the limits of the City on any street, alley or such public place.”

There is no time restriction on when fires need to be extinguished.

Have a question or concern you would like to address? Simply send your question or concern to jratliff@mmclocal.com along with an indication of which entity your question or concern pertains to. Current participants are the Merrill Police Department, Merrill Fire Department, Tomahawk Police Department, Lincoln County Administrative Coordinator Randy Scholz, Merrill City Administrator Dave Johnson and Merrill Area Housing Authority Director Paul Russell. Please note: Those who submit to the ‘Ask an Official’ feature remain anonymous.