Fire bans in bad weather
11 Fire bans in bad weather
This section applies if the Minister is satisfied that the existing or forecasted weather conditions mean a fire would—
cause excessive environmental harm; or
unnecessarily increase pollutants in the air.
The Minister may, in writing, declare that the lighting, using or maintaining of a fire in the open air is prohibited for the period stated in the declaration.
A declaration may be expressed to apply to all or part of the ACT.
The declaration must be—
notified in a public notice; or
broadcast in the ACT by a national or commercial broadcasting service.
Note Public notice means notice on an ACT government website or in a daily newspaper circulating in the ACT (see Legislation Act, dict, pt 1).
A person commits an offence if the person contravenes a declaration.
Maximum penalty: 10 penalty units.
Subsection (5) does not apply if the person had a reasonable excuse.
This section does not apply to a fire only for cooking or heating food or drink.
An offence against this section is a strict liability offence.
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