The RM of Hanover has not yet issued a general burning ban in the municipality. But, Chief Paul Wiebe reminds residents of Hanover's fire bylaw.

Wiebe says 2016 was the first full year since this bylaw went into effect. It prohibits burning in urban and rural residential areas of the municipality.

"You can still have a backyard fire pit where you can burn wood logs," explains Wiebe. "However, you can not burn any grass clippings or leaves in your fire pit or anywhere on your property."

Wiebe says aside from a couple of minor incidents last year, they had a good response to their fire bylaw. The municipality now also has a composting program which gives residents a place to put their leaves and clippings.

According to Wiebe, in years past a lot more land was grazed by cattle. That means today there is much more fuel stored up in bushes and on fields, which are a potential threat.

"When farmers and landowners burn these off it's not a bad thing," says Wiebe. "In this way in a really dry year, we hope to have less issues with the big fires."

But, he says conditions must be right. That means no burning near a road where smoke can become a hazard for motorists and no burning if the wind speed exceeds 32 kilometres per hour. Wiebe says you should also take precautions by putting fire breaks between the fire and buildings.

Wiebe notes fighting grass and bush fires are most taxing on a municipal budget. For starters, he says they require a lot of resources which means a lot of firefighter hours. But also, the fires are very rough on equipment, especially in spring when roads are soft.

"We're taking them onto fields and in trails that they were not designed to go," explains Wiebe.

He notes maintenance costs on equipment is usually much higher for grass fires than structure fires.