In the shadow of the 80-foot-tall Montlake Mountain fire tower, Frank P. Westwood, right, forestry technician for the Tennessee Department of Agriculture's Forestry Division, readies a 150-gallon Mallory Pumper for fire season Monday at the Montlake Road headquarters. James Hankins, center, holds a 1 3/4-inch water hose used to fight fire on the miniature firetruck.GET YOUR PERMITTo find out whether burning is allowed and to obtain a burn permit contact:• Southeast Tennessee: 423-332-3228 (West of Tennessee River) or 423-478-0337 (East of the Tennessee River)• Northwest Georgia: 1-877-OK2-BURN• Northeast Alabama: 1-800-392-5679BURN TIPSState fire officials say these tips should be followed when it is safe to conduct a debris burn:• Check with local authorities to make sure there are no local restrictions on burning in place, especially in cities and towns that have their own burning permit system.• Notify your local fire department and neighbors to let them know your plans to burn.• Do not burn on windy days.• Stay abreast of changing weather conditions.• Establish wide control lines down to bare mineral soil at least five feet wide around burn piles.• Keep fire containment equipment on hand during the fire (e.g. rake, shovel, water).• Stay with the fire until it is completely out.Source: burnsafetn.orgDO NOT BURN• Tires and other rubber products• Vinyl siding and vinyl shingles• Plastics and other synthetic materials• Paper products, cardboard and newspaper• Asphalt shingles, and other asphalt roofing materials and demolition debris• Asbestos-containing materials• Paints, household and agricultural chemicals• Aerosol cans and food cans• Building material and construction debris• Buildings and mobile homes• Copper wire and electrical wires• Household trash• Leaves, branches and trees not grown on siteIt may be OK to burn leaves, branches, tree limbs, twigs, lawn clippings, woody vegetation, yard trimmings, clean unpainted, uncoated wood or untreated lumber. Check local and other state ordinances. Improper outdoor burning can lead to fines of up to $25,000.Source: Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation
As summer drifts into fall and homeowners start raking up leaves to burn, state forestry officials in Chattanooga's tri-state region are reminding people that they'll need a burn permit starting in October and continuing through next spring.
Frank Westwood, a Tennessee Forestry Division forestry technician who works from the fire tower on Montlake Mountain in Hamilton County, said open burning rules aim to prevent forest fires and air pollution by regulating when burning can take place and what materials can be burned.
"The permit is $5 and it's good for Oct. 1 to April 30 in Hamilton County," Westwood said. No outside burning is allowed in Hamilton County between May 1 and Sept. 30.
From Oct. 15 to May 15 throughout Tennessee, anyone starting an open-air fire within 500 feet of a forest, grassland or woodland must by law secure a burning permit from the Division of Forestry.
Locally, a visit from Chattanooga/Hamilton County Air Pollution Control Bureau investigator John Schultz for a violation could cost up to $25,000 per day, so don't get penalized just for not reading burn permit conditions.
"There's a big misunderstanding," Schultz said. "People think that if they burn in a pit or barrel that it's OK. The biggest problem I find is that people will have a burning permit but they haven't read it."
As Westwood pointed out, the $5 fee is minimal, but Schultz notes that permits within the city limits of Hamilton County municipalities of Chattanooga, Red Bank, East Ridge and Collegedale are $50 because a permit requires an inspection of the burn site before it's issued.
In Chattanooga and some other cities, public leaf and brush pick up is available and many items can be recycled, Schultz said. Outside Hamilton County in Tennessee, a burn permit is free from the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation.
Outdoor burning is banned in Hamilton County between May 1 and Sept. 30 each year.
Schultz said the wet spring and summer kept the fire risk down over the summer but it causes more growth of leaves and underbrush.
"It's a win-lose situation," he said.
In Northwest Georgia, the main fire season is between November and April and some counties fall under the state's burning ban that, like Hamilton County, runs from May 1 through Sept. 30 each year for 54 Georgia counties. In Northwest Georgia, only Walker and Catoosa counties fall under the ban.
"A burn permit is always required when an individual plans to do any burning outdoors," said Georgia Forestry Commission spokeswoman Wendy Burnett.
Officials in each county decide whether burn permits will be issued on a given day. Permits for open burning can be obtained during the summer in counties not under the burn ban.
Ranger Andy Gamlen, based in LaFayette, said it's always a good idea to call the local forestry office or fire department to make sure because rules vary.
Since Walker County's population grew beyond 65,000, burning materials from land clearing requires an "air curtain" to be used with the materials in a pit. An air curtain is created by a large fan that blows into the pit to reduce smoke.
In Northeast Alabama, the fire season also runs from Nov. 1 to April 30, but forestry officials there start watching for trouble in late September.
DeKalb, Madison and Etowah counties are under a burn ban from May 1 to Nov. 1 each year so no one is supposed to be burning openly, said Jeff Keener, an Alabama Forestry Commission forestry specialist based in Fort Payne.
The burn ban doesn't apply to neighboring Cherokee, Jackson or Marshall counties, Keener said. Some types of agricultural burning are allowed in burn-ban counties with a state permit.
Keener said anyone who is unsure whether their plans to burn will require a permit should contact the forestry office or their local fire department.
"If they'll call one of our offices, we'll be glad to help explain whether it's a bad day to burn," he said. "I'd much rather do paperwork than be out there fighting a fire."
Contact staff writer Ben Benton at bbenton@timesfreepress.com or twitter.com/BenBenton or www.facebook.com/ben.benton1 or 423-757-6569.