Vernon Officials: Avoid 'Recreational Fires' On Halloween, Weekend

VERNON, CT — Overnight rains did not even make a dent in the dry conditions throughout north central Connecticut and, on Wednesday, Vernon fire officials were reiterating a ban on open fires in town, particularly with Halloween coming up.

Fire Marshal Daniel Wasilewski said Vernon received less than a tenth-of-an-inch of rain.

"It was not significant enough to lower the warning," he said. "We're still at an 8-inch deficit with rain over the past six weeks."

Thus, the Red Flag warning remains in place in Connecticut. Last week, concerns over brush fires that have broken out — including one in Vernon, one in Tolland and especially one in Berlin that claimed the life of a firefighter — have prompted the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Projection to issue its highest level of warnings.

"DEEP cautions the public as we respond to multiple active fires across Connecticut. With extremely dry conditions and a Red Flag Warning in effect, the risk of fire spread is high," DEEP officials said.

The Red Flag warning is as serious as it gets, Wasilewski said.

Nevertheless, it seems some Vernon residents thought they were entitled to an open fire. The Vernon Fire Department responded to seven incidents of open burning last weekend, fire officials said. Wasilewski said the calls were a combination of residents burning brush or "recreational" fires.

Mayor Dan Champagne sent a straightforward message to the community.

"There are wildfires all over Connecticut because everything is so dry," Champagne said. "The risk is too great. There is no open burning permitted."

Wasilewski said his office has been getting calls asking it it were OK to have fire pits going for effect on Halloween.

"Residents have been asking the question, and as much as people would like to have recreational fires on Halloween, the answer has to be no," he said.

Wasilewski also includes smoking.

"All it takes is one ember or a smoldering cigarette to start a brush fire," he said. "It's still too dry out to risk it."