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Fire danger season
Fire Danger Season for the Mount Lofty Ranges has been declared to start Wednesday, 15 November 2023.
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Fire burning in backyard

Environment

Backyard burning restrictions

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During the Fire Danger Season

Backyard burning during the Fire Danger Season, between 1 December - 30 April, (unless extended), is strictly not permitted.

The only exceptions made during this period are for small manageable fires used for cooking or personal comfort, provided certain requirements are met.

Outside of the Fire Danger Season

Burning restrictions are required to balance the need or desire to undertake burning for outdoor activities and fuel reduction, with the need and desire for our community to enjoy our environment without the negative impacts of nuisance smoke. When undertaken properly, the burning of good clean material results in very little smoke and nuisance. It is important to always be mindful of the impact of smoke when undertaking burning.

When and what can I burn?

Outside of the Fire Danger Season and subject to any Total Fire Ban restrictions, the following applies

Burning Within a Township - outside of the Fire Danger Season

Purpose Material Restrictions Providing...
For cooking and preparation of food Charcoal or dried and seasoned timber No permit required The fire is kept small and manageable and the activity does not cause a smoke nuisance
For personal comfort or outdoor heating. (Braziers, fire pits or chimineas) Charcoal or dried and seasoned timber No permit required The fire is kept small and manageable. The activity does not cause a smoke nuisance
Fuel reduction and pile burning Dried timber, dried paper or dried vegetation From 10:00am until 3:00pm Monday to Saturday. The fire is kept small and manageable. The activity does not cause a smoke nuisance. Must be completely extinguished by 3:00pm

Burning Outside of a Township - outside of the Fire Danger Season

Purpose Material Restrictions Providing...
For cooking and preparation of food Charcoal or dried and seasoned timber No permit required The activity does not cause a smoke nuisance
For personal comfort or outdoor heating. (Braziers, fire pits or chimineas) Charcoal or dried and seasoned timber No permit required The activity does not cause a smoke nuisance
Fuel reduction and pile burning Dried timber, dried paper or dried vegetation No permit required The activity does not cause a smoke nuisance
Disposal of agricultural waste **
Broad-acre stubble burning **
** In accordance with CFS Code of Practice

All reasonable steps must be taken to make sure smoke does not cause nuisance or negatively impact on neighbouring properties, penalties can apply for inappropriate burning.

Only dried garden prunings, dried timber and dry paper can be burned. The following materials are strictly prohibited:

  • Plastics or rubber
  • Material or foam
  • Lawn clippings or composted material
  • General refuse
  • Timbers containing plastics, glue or adhesives
  • Timbers treated with Copper Chromium Arsenate (CCA) or other chemical preservatives
  • Green or wet vegetation

Alternatives to burning

We encourage you to consider more sustainable options to burning vegetation, particularly in townships. The majority of vegetation, plant foliage, garden prunings and lawn clippings can be composted together with kitchen scraps and returned to your garden.

This will also provide your garden with improved soil and valuable nutrients. A properly made compost heap is clean, free of smell and only requires about 2 square metres in area.

Please also consider the fortnightly roadside green waste collection service provided by Solo Resource Recovery. For larger amounts, green waste recycling facilities such as Kuchel Landscape Supplies or Council’s Springton Transfer Station will accept clean, weed-free green waste for a nominal fee.

Clearing, chipping and removing combustible material as a method of bushfire control is preferable to burning.

Nuisance or excessive smoke

It is your responsibility to ensure that burning activities do not cause an unreasonable nuisance to others, through excessive smoke or odour.

If you experience the impact of excessive smoke from burning in the open, please contact your neighbour and to advise them of the nuisance. If that is not possible, contact the Council during business hours and Officers will investigate the matter.

FAQs

In townships, residents may burn clean, dried timber, paper and prunings on their property, between the hours of 10:00 am and 3:00 pm, from Monday to Saturday. The fire must be completely extinguished with water by 3:00 pm.

Properties outside of township boundaries are permitted to burn clean, dried vegetation to clean up their properties outside of these times providing the activity does not cause a nuisance to neighbours.

The Barossa Council is within the Mount Lofty Ranges fire ban district. Generally, the Fire Danger Season extends from 1 December through to 30 April. There are strict controls on burning during the Fire Danger Season.

The burning of stubble or waste vegetation by primary producers to prepare their paddocks for cropping (including the burning of clean piles of vines stumps) outside of townships is permitted outside of the Fire Danger Season.

Vignerons burning piles of vine stumps should follow the CFS code of practice for pile burning. All dripper lines and treated timber posts must be removed before burning.

Cereal and grain farmers burning stubble before seeding should follow the CFS code of practice for broadacre burning.

Yes.

The burning of charcoal or clean dried timber for heating purposes is permitted in a small and manageable pile. As a guide, use timber of the same quality that you would use in a slow-combustion or open fireplace.

Small comfort fires are permitted during the Fire Danger Season (except on a total fire ban) under certain circumstances.

Fires can be lit for cooking purposes using charcoal or clean, dried timber at any time providing the fire is kept small and manageable.

Small cooking fires are permitted during the Fire Danger Season (except on a total fire ban) under certain circumstances.

Yes. Burning any material that contains rubber, plastic, foam, general refuse, adhesives or treated timbers is strictly prohibited. Also, the burning of materials such as lawn clippings or composted material should not be undertaken as these materials create excessive amounts of smoke. Burning vegetation that is green, only recently pruned or wet is also not permitted.

It is important to have regard for the weather when planning a burn particularly wind speed and direction. Residents should also actively monitor burn-offs and have access to a shovel or rake and an extinguishing agent, such as mains pressure water. We recommend that burning be undertaken in an area cleared of flammable material to a distance of four meters.

The Local Nuisance and Litter Control Act 2016 provides penalties for a person causing a local nuisance (which includes nuisance smoke) ranging from an expiation fee of $500.00 per offence, or up to $10,000 if set before the courts.

Unlawful burning or activities during the Fire Danger Season is regulated by the Fire and Emergency Services Act 2005, which carries significant penalties.

Despite compliance with the above, you must still ensure that unreasonable nuisance is not caused to neighbours, which includes nuisance from excessive smoke from burning in the open. It is important to monitor and be mindful of the smoke being produced at all times. Piles should not be left unattended and allowed to smoulder.

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