What everyone should know
The legal brush burning period runs from January 15th through May 1st. Franklin County permits for burning brush are available on-line at www.fcburnpermits.com.
The on-line permits are available from 8:30 am to 1:00 pm on any day that burning will be allowed. If burning is not being allowed on any particular day, the website will inform you of this and will not allow you to obtain a permit.
At the website, you will first come to a welcoming page that describes the brush burning rules and regulations. To get a permit, you will "click here to apply for a permit." You will see two lists, one of the towns that are allowing burning that day and one for those that are not.
Click on "Shutesbury" and fill out the form. When you submit the form, a record of the permit will go into the system and a copy of the permit will be e-mailed to you at your email address. Print this permit out and sign it. It should be kept with you
while you are conducting your burning.
For those of you without a computer or Internet access, you can call the Shutesbury Fire Station at 413-259-1211 to get your burning permit. This option is only available Monday through Thursday from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm. They will in turn enter the information into the system.
Now that we have covered how to get a permit, let's talk regulations and safety.
The season runs from January 15 through May 1. The hours for burning are from 10:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M.
Fires are to be located at least 75 feet from any building and are to be attended at all times by a person 18 years or older. Permits are good for one day only, so you must get a permit for each day that you want to burn.
As a reminder, once we lose the snow cover, and the surface fuels dry out, there is a high risk of the fire getting out of control and spreading. If this happens, don't delay, call 911 immediately.
Keep in mind that in these conditions there is a strong possibility that burning being shut down. So don't wait till the last minute to burn your brush, or you might be out of luck.
Also remember that this is for the burning of brush only. The burning of grass, leaves, stumps, building materials and trash etc. is prohibited. Please use care in starting your fires. Use a small amount of paper and kindling to start the fire if possible. Using flammable liquids should be avoided because of the risk of personal injury. If you feel you must use an accelerant, use small amounts of kerosene. Never use gasoline to start the fire.