Statewide ban on burning brush takes effect Monday

Monday is the first day of a statewide, two-month ban against all residential brush burning in small communities, according to the state Department of Environmental Conservation.

A regulation enacted last year permits brush burning in towns with populations less than 20,000 for most of the year, but not during the spring, when the bulk of the state's wildfires occur. The prohibition, effective from March 15 to May 15, is aimed not only at preventing wildfires but also at reducing harmful air pollutants.

Open burning is said to be the largest single cause of wildfires in the state.

Violators are subject to both criminal and civil action, with penalties ranging from $375 to $15,000.