An Act to Prohibit Open Burning Under a Red Flag Warning and Regulate Recreational Campfires
Maine Legislature, Session 131, LD 0024
Committee Amendment CA_A_S39 (Senate)
Amends: 12 MRSA §9321, 12 MRSA §9321-B, 12 MRSA §9324, 12 MRSA §9325

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT" ff" to S.P. 16, L.D. 24, "An Act to Prohibit Open 
Burning Under a Red Flag Warning and Regulate Recreational Campfires" 
Amend the bill by striking out the title and substituting the following: 
'An Act to Prohibit Certain Open Burning Under a Red Flag Warning and Regulate 
Recreational Campfires' 
Amend the bill by striking out everything after the enacting clause and inserting the 
following: 
'Sec. l. 12 MRSA §9321, sub-§1-A is enacted to read: 
1-A. Red flag warning areas. The following provisions govern permits for open 
burning in geographic areas subject to a red flag warning. 
A. Except as provided in paragraph B, the director or the director's delegate may not 
issue a permit or other permission for open burning to take place in a geographic area 
subject to a red flag warning. 
B. The director or the director's delegate may issue a permit for a controlled bum on a 
commercially managed wild blueberry field in a geographic area subject to a red flag 
warning as long as the application for the permit includes a prescribed bum plan 
approved by the issuing authority. The permit must incorporate by reference the 
approved bum plan. 
Sec. 2. 12 MRSA §9321, sub-§2, as amended by PL 1999, c. 547, Pt. B, §32 and 
affected by §80, is further amended to read: 
2. Revocation. The director or the director's delegate may revoke any permit during 
0 
a period of high forest fire danger or any permit whleh that results in creation of a nuisance 
condition without compliance with the provisions of Title 4, chapter 5 or Title 5, chapter 
375. If a geographic area is subject to a red flag warning, the following provisions apply. 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT " ft "to S.P. 16, L.D. 24 Cs-.)~ 
A. Except as provided in paragraph B, the director or the director's delegate shall 
revoke any permit for open burning in the geographic area during the period in which 
a red flag warning is in effect. 
B. The director or the director's delegate is not required to revoke a permit for a 
controlled bum on a commercially managed wild blueberry field during the period in 
which a red flag warning is in effect if the permit includes an approved prescribed bum 
plan. 
Sec. 3. 12 MRSA §9321-B is enacted to read: 
§9321-B. Definitions 
As used in this article, unless the context otherwise indicates, the following terms have 
the following meanings. 
1. Licensed camping facility. "Licensed camping facility" means a recreational 
camp, youth camp or camping area licensed under Title 22, section 2495. 
2. Recreational campfire. "Recreational campfire" means an out-of-door fire that is 
used for cooking, personal warmth, light or ceremonial or aesthetic purposes and that is not 
a part of debris disposal. "Recreational campfire" includes a residential fire contained 
within an out-of-door fireplace. 
"Recreational campfire" does not include a portable 
lantern designed to emit light resulting from combustion or a stove that is used inside a 
structure or living accommodation. 
3. Red flag warning. "Red flag warning" means a forecast warning issued by the 
United States Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration, National Weather Service or its successor, in consultation with the bureau, 
that informs the public, firefighters and land management agencies that conditions are ideal 
for wildland fire combustion and rapid spread. A red flag warning indicates for a given 
geographic area, until the warning is withdrawn, that the temperature is warm, the humidity 
is very low and strong winds are expected and that these factors produce an increased risk 
of fire danger. 
Sec. 4. 12 MRSA §9324, sub-§9 is enacted to read: 
9. Recreational campfires. A person who kindles or uses a recreational campfire, 
other than a licensed camping facility, may not allow the recreational campfire to exceed 3 
feet in diameter on the ground at the base of the fire or 3 feet in height. 
Sec. 5. 12 MRSA §9324, sub-§10 is enacted to read: 
10. Open burning during red flag warning. A person may not engage in open 
burning under section 9325, subsection 1 or 2, including a recreational campfire, in any 
geographic area subject to a red flag warning. Open burning without a permit under section 
9325, subsection 2 is allowed at the following locations: 
A. A licensed camping facility; and 
B. Campsites under the jurisdiction of the Department of Agriculture, Conservation 
and Forestry or the Baxter State Park Authority, as long as the campsite and the use of 
out-of-door fires and charcoal and gas grills at the campsite comply with rules under 
section 9001-B, subsection 4. 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT" /Jr "to S.P. 16, L.D. 24 ( 5' ?~) 
Sec. 6. 12 MRSA §9325, sub-§2, 1A, as enacted by PL 1991, c. 36, §4, is amended 
to read: 
A. Reereatioaal campfires A recreational campfire kindled when the ground is covered 
by snow or on~ frozen ee4ies body of water, as long as the recreational campfire does 
not exceed 3 feet in diameter on the ground at the base of the fire and does not exceed 
feet in height; 
Sec. 7. 12 MRSA §9325, sub-§2, ~' as enacted by PL 1991, c. 36, §4, is amended 
to read: 
B. Residential use of outdoor grills and fireplaces for recreational purposes such as 
preparing food, as long as the fire does not exceed 3 feet in diameter in a fireplace or 
grill at the base of the fire and does not exceed 3 feet in height; and' 
Amend the bill by relettering or renumbering any nonconsecutive Part letter or section 
number to read consecutively. 
SUMMARY 
The bill prohibits the director of the Bureau of Forestry, within the Department of 
Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry, from issuing a permit or other permission for open 
burning to take place in a geographic area subject to a red flag warning. This amendment, 
which is the majority report of the committee, provides an exception for wild blueberry 
growers by allowing the director or director's delegate to issue a permit for a controlled 
bum on a commercially managed wild blueberry field in a geographic area subject to a red 
flag warning as long as the application for the permit includes a prescribed bum plan 
approved by the issuing authority. 
The bill requires the director or the director's delegate to revoke any permit for open 
burning in a geographic area in which a red flag warning is in effect. The amendment 
provides that the director or the director's delegate is not required to revoke a permit for a 
controlled bum on a commercially managed wild blueberry field during the period in which 
a red flag warning is in effect if the permit includes an approved prescribed bum plan. 
The amendment clarifies that a red flag warning is a forecast warning issued by the 
United States Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration, National Weather Service in consultation with the Bureau of Forestry. 
The bill prohibits a person who kindles or uses a recreational campfire from allowing 
the recreational campfire to exceed 3 feet in diameter on the ground at the base of the fire 
or 3 feet in height. The amendment exempts a licensed camp facility from this prohibition. 
The bill prohibits open burning, both permissible open burning with a permit and 
permissible open burning without a permit, during the period in which a red flag warning 
is in effect. The amendment exempts from this prohibition open burning without a permit 
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at a licensed camping facility and at campsites under the jurisdiction of the Department of 
Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry or the Baxter State Park Authority, as long as the 
campsite and the use of out-of-door fires and charcoal and gas grills at the campsite comply 
with department rules. 
FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED 
(See attached) 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
Approved: 02/17 /23 feac:.. 
LD24 
LR 91(02) 
An Act to Prohibit Open Burning Under a Red Flag Warning and Regulate Recreational Campfires 
Fiscal Note for Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment "!1-' { ~,30 
Committee: Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry 
') 
Fiscal Note Required: Yes 
Fiscal Note 
Minor cost increase - General Fund 
Fiscal Detail and Notes 
Any additional costs to the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry to implement the provisions of this 
bill are anticipated to be minor and can be absorbed within existing budgeted resources. 
LR0091(02) - Fiscal Note - Page I of 1