Fire Chief Rick Jones will speak about outdoor burning. (Richard McGuire file photo)
As someone who has long suffered from chronic bronchitis and other breathing problems, Dennis Potter said the amount of outdoor burning near his rural Osoyoos home negatively affects his health on numerous occasions every year.
He’s not the only one to complain, said Potter.
“I moved here in 1967 and spent the past 47 years in the rural district outside Osoyoos on the East Bench and this has been a problem since I moved here,” said Potter.
“As someone who has difficulty breathing and suffers from chronic bronchitis, I’ve been concerned about this issue for some time. When there’s a lot of outdoor burning in the spring, I have a real tough time breathing and I know a lot of other people who feel the same way.”
Potter is also a member of the Osoyoos Rural Ratepayers Association and this group has invited Osoyoos Volunteer Fire Department Chief Rick Jones to discuss the issue of outdoor burning at its annual general meeting set for Tuesday, May 5 at the Sonora Community Centre in Osoyoos.
While the Town of Osoyoos has strict guidelines regarding open burning, Area A in the RDOS has few restrictions for agricultural and forest waste, said Potter.
The burning of orchard and vineyard material often has very high concentrations of smoke particulates, which have proven to be very harmful to human health, said Potter.
The Ministry of Environment has regulations against burning of materials such as rubber tires, oil, painted wood and plastics, but those regulations are not always followed, which has led to the ministry reviewing and revising its regulations through a process of public consultation, he said.
Most local residents would never consider throwing their garbage into the street or into Osoyoos Lake, yet hundreds of tonnes of pollution are released across this region and the South Okanagan every year due to burning of green orchard trees, said Potter.
“Some jurisdictions, such as the City of Kelowna, require that orchard wood be dried for a minimum of two years before being burned,” he said. “In rural Osoyoos, most orchardists burn the trees while they are still green, resulting in very smoky, smoldering fires which can last for days.”
Dry wood results in hotter fires, with far less smoke and less ramifications to those who suffer from inhaling this smoke, he said.
Jones graciously accepted the invitation to speak at the rural ratepayers’ upcoming general meeting and he’s looking forward to what he has to say, said Potter.
“We’re not against all outdoor burning … we just want it done right so people aren’t negatively affected,” he said. “Some of the stumps that are burned every spring smolder for days and sometimes weeks. Those stumps can easily be turned into wood chips and there wouldn’t be any problems.
“The purpose of this meeting is to inform people about what they should and shouldn’t burn and what they should and shouldn’t be putting into those piles before they burn. It has to be done right.”
Jones agrees that outdoor burning is a contentious issue and his goal is to inform the public about what should and shouldn’t be done.
“I will talk about trying to be a good neighbour and what you should be burning and what you shouldn’t be burning,” he said. “It’s all about education.”
The spring burning season is supposed to end April 15, even though some property owners don’t obey this time line and continue open burning past this deadline, said Jones.
Mark Pendergraft, the chair of the RDOS board and director for Area A in Osoyoos, said he believes the complaints filed by members of the public relate to only a few property owners who are contravening the regulations.
“We do get a few complaints about outdoor burning, but it isn’t excessive,” he said. “If you do have breathing or health problems and there’s an abundance of smoke, I can certainly understand their concerns.”
There’s no doubt some outdoor fires cause excessive smoke and that a few property owners are contravening regulations, he said.
“Burning green wood causes a lot of smoke and it’s not right to do that,” he said. “If you’re using dry wood, then you don’t have those same problems. Education goes a long way to alleviating most of the problems and that’s why I’m looking forward to the upcoming meeting.”
Many residents who indulge in outdoor burning don’t know all of the rules and regulations and this meeting would provide a good opportunity for them to learn about what they should or shouldn’t be including in burn piles, said Pendergraft.
The meeting on May 5 will commence at 7 p.m. and all members of the public are invited to attend.
KEITH LACEY
Osoyoos Times
