By Abigail Cukier
News Staff

Stoney Creek councillors want to put out a call to area parents to warn their teenaged children against bush fires during this drought.
Ward 9 councillor Brad Clark said a resident found a still-smouldering campfire while walking behind Battlefield Park this week.

Councillors Brenda Johnson and Maria Pearson are also concerned and have received reports in their areas of residents seeing  smoke or evidence of campfires that have not been extinguished properly.

“Kids don’t realize the risk of what they are doing when we have these drought conditions,” Clark said. “There is an especially signifcant risk against the escparpment with the vegetation there. There are so many houses along the base. It could be disastrous.”

The City of Hamilton last week, issued a ban on all open air burning due to the dry weather conditions and continued forecast of extreme temperatures with no rain in the near future.

This ban includes and suspends the burning of clean wood and brush, outdoor campfires and the use of all outdoor wood burning appliances and will remain in effect until further notice.

The city also recommends that citizens refrain from using other outdoor flame-producing devices, such as natural gas flame logs or propane-fueled fireplaces, patio torches and outdoor candles until further notice. Citizens are further reminded that use of smoker’s materials outdoors should be fully extinguished before being discarded.

“Parents need to talk to their kids and warn them that it’s very serious. They are having bush parties, lighting fires and not putting them out properly,” Clark said. “All it would take is the wind to carry one ember… it would be disastrous.”