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Community Notice: 2022 Open Burn Season

By contributor,
Town Seal

Massachusetts allows residents to burn brush between January 15 and May 1, depending on weather conditions and air quality. Hopkinton does not charge a fee, though you must obtain permission from the Hopkinton Fire Department if you plan to open burn.

Last year the Hopkinton Fire Department partnered with Full Circle Technologies to implement a new online Open Burn Permit system for the 2021 season. We will continue to use that system for 2022.

If you have applied and received a permit for the Open Burn 2021 season -
Please do not complete a new application. You should receive a personalized email reminder from the system (today) with a link for you to renew your permit. You have the opportunity to renew your permit now.

If you have not used Hopkinton’s e-permitting system for 2021 -
You may apply for a 2022 permit starting on January 15, 2022 by using this link: http://permiteyes.us/hopkinton/applyfornewpermit.php

More information and links to the e-permitting Open Burn System can be found on the Fire Department's website

In accordance with State Law, open air burning season is from January 15th to May 1st annually. These dates are set by the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) with the objective of minimizing air quality impacts. The DEP will prohibit open air burning on days when adverse weather conditions are forecast.

The Permits are free of charge; but a permit is required to burn. You only need to apply/register for the permit itself once; although you then also need to request to burn on each particular day. You may REQUEST BURN only on the day you are burning, between the hours of 10am and 1pm. You cannot request a future date. Your request to burn will be approved if the day is within the burning season and there are no restrictions on burning that day.

You must acknowledge the list of the rules and regulations for burning (part of the electronic application process), and additionally, that list will then be emailed to you as a link when you are issued your permit. The Fire Chief does have the right to not allow burning on a particular day, or end the burning season early depending on weather conditions. For more information related to the open air burning season, please contact us at 508-497-2323

Additional Resources
Open Burning Guidance from the Mass Dept. of Fire Services

Safety Tips for Open Burning

Why Does MassDEP Prohibit Open Burning on "No Burn" Days?