Every Spring in our yard, with the blessing of the Wellesley Fire Department and the Massachusetts Board of Fire Prevention, we exercise our right to do our much-anticipated open-air burn. All that brush that has been too much trouble to haul to the dump’s yard waste area gets dragged out from its pile at the the edge of the property line and set afire. Thorny rose vines, branches the trees have dropped throughout the year, my old Palm Sunday palms, the Christmas tree (which goes up in spectacular style), hedge clippings, and other woody debris are all fair game. The burn is a little tradition that requires the strong backs of the young to lift the debris and toss it onto the pyre coupled with the patience of the old (that’s me) to tend the fire once the excitement wears off and the pizza that I bribed my helpers with arrives.
We aren’t the only pyromaniacs in town. According to a fire department representative, this year 40 households in town applied for a permit and 67 requests to burn were granted.
It’s easy to get an Open Air Burning Permit in Wellesley. You just have to follow a few simple rules. The Massachusetts Board of Fire Prevention Regulations lays out the following directives:
The disposal by burning brush, cane, driftwood and forestry debris, excluding hay, leaves, and stumps from January 15 to May 1 shall be conducted:
a) at a location greater than 75 feet from any dwelling (this rule is probably the most challenging for Wellesley residents, given the close proximity of homes to one another)
b) Between 10am and 4pm
c) On land proximate to the place of generation
d) While in constant attendance and until completely extinguished.
e) The Wellesley Fire Department requires that garden hose be available at the site of the burning.
Permission to burn must be obtained each day that you wish to burn. Weather conditions are taken into consideration when determining if burning will be allowed each day. No permission to burn will be granted after 1pm.
That’s all there is to it. You sign your agreement to these rules, which must be done at the Wellesley fire station at 457 Worcester St., and you’re given a number. On the day you want to burn, you call the Fire Department, identify yourself by your permit number, and you will receive permission, or not. The OK is not a given. There are a few weather particulars that can stand in your way. If the cloud cover is too low, you’ll get a no. If it’s windy, it’s a big no. If it’s been dry lately, that’s another no. I’ve sweat it out some years as the May 1 deadline signaling the end of burn season crept closer and closer and I kept hearing, “Not today, ma’m. Too windy,” or “Not today, ma’m, too dry.”
But when the conditions are right, and the labor is willing, there’s nothing to match a good old-fashioned backyard burn. Here are some pictures of our yearly ritual:
Thnank yu for the information….I never realized that this is allowed.
Did I read it correctly that you can only burn before May 1st (its too late this year.)? Or is it after May 1? Its confusing to me.
Thank you.
Correct, May 1 is the last day to get a permit (so yes, our post isn’t going to help anyone for this year, but a heads up for next year!)
I didn’t realize this practice was legal in Wellesley. We have a home in Rockport and one neighbor drags her items to be burnt near our property line and let’s the fire soar high in the air with hose in hand. I find this practice, especially so close to the property line,extremely bad smelling and air polluting. Disappointed it takes place in Wellesley as well. And why near a neighbor’s property line? Why not in the middle of the burner’s property?