Fire Marshal Bill Halstead has announced that the town's open burning season is extended to May 15 to allow residents sufficient time to burn small brush for its disposal.

Open burning season normally starts on November 1 and extends to April 1, but the season is being extended by more than six weeks in view of the number of recent days that have been unsuitable for open burning.

Permits are required for opening burning. Permits, which cost $5, are available at the fire marshal's office at Newtown Municipal Center, 3 Primrose Street, during office hours: Monday through Friday, 7 am-4:30 pm. Permits are issued for the burning of brush only, whose trunk size is a maximum three inches in diameter.

After receiving a permit, permit holders must contact the town's emergency dispatch center at 203-270-4200 on the day of the scheduled open burning to learn if weather conditions allow such activity on that day. Permit holders will be asked for their name and for the address of their burn.

All permits are canceled when the forest fire danger is High or above, on high wind days, or if the air quality is poor anywhere in the state. Daily Forest Fire Danger levels are posted by the CT DEEP here.

On scheduled opening burning days, there must be a wind speed of between 5 and 15 miles per hour.

Burning permits are issued for one day only. At the fire marshal's discretion, permits may be issued for more than one day for special circumstances, with the understanding that the permit holder contacts the dispatch center on each day before burning begins.

For additional information on open burning, contact the fire marshal's office at 203-270-4370.