Willful,
malicious or intentional setting on fire, etc., of woodlands, grasslands,
etc.; burning permits; fire alerts; placement of areas under organized
forest fire protection; disposition of fines, etc.
(a) It shall be a Class C felony for every person, firm, association, or
corporation who:
(1) Willfully, maliciously or intentionally burns, sets fire to, or
causes to be burned or any fire to be set to any forest, grass, woodlands,
or other inflammable vegetation on any lands not owned, leased, controlled,
or in the lawful possession of the person, firm, association, or corporation
setting such fire or burning such lands or causing such fire to be set or
lands to be burned;
(2) Shall have in his or her possession or shall set, throw or place any
device, instrument, or paraphernalia in or adjacent to any forest, grass,
woodlands, or other inflammable vegetation, which forest, grass, woodland or
other inflammable vegetation is not owned, leased, controlled, or in the
lawful possession of the person possessing such device, instrument, or
paraphernalia.
(b) It shall be a Class B misdemeanor for any person, firm, association,
or corporation:
(1) Who allows a fire to escape from land owned, leased, or controlled by
him or her, whereby any property of another is injured or destroyed;
(2) Who shall burn any brush, stumps, logs, rubbish, fallen timber,
grass, stubble, or debris of any sort, whether on one's own land or that of
another, without taking reasonably necessary precautions, both before
lighting the fire and all times thereafter to prevent the escape thereof;
(3) Who shall set fire to any brush, stumps, logs, rubbish, fallen
timber, grass, stubble, or debris of any sort within or near any forest or
woodland, unless the area surrounding said material to be burned shall be
cleared of all inflammable material for a reasonably safe distance in all
directions and maintained free of all inflammable material so long as such
fire shall continue to burn;
(4) Who shall set a fire within or near any forest, woodland, or
grassland without clearing the ground immediately around it free from
material which will carry fire, or shall leave such fire before it is
totally extinguished or start a fire in any forest, woodland, or grassland
by throwing away a lighted cigar, cigarette, match or by the use of firearms
or in any other manner and leave the same unextinguished;
(5) Who shall destroy, remove, injure, or deface any fire warning or
notices or deface any inscription or devices comprising such notices;
(6) Who shall burn any new ground, field, grasslands, or woodlands, or
adjoining woodlands or grasslands of another within any area which has been
placed under organized forest fire protection by the State Forestry
Commission without first obtaining verbal authorization from the State
Forestry Commission by obtaining a burning permit number.
(c) (1) Burning permits may be obtained from the district operations
center when the center is in active operation. The following criteria must
be met:
a. The person requesting the permit must have adequate tools, equipment,
and manpower to stay with and control the fire during the entire burning
period.
b. The person requesting the permit is responsible to keep the fire
confined.
c. In no case will the person requesting the permit allow the fire to be
unattended until it is dead out.
(2) Burning permits will be issued if the individual requesting the
permit states that the above criteria will be met unless the State Forester
shall declare a fire alert. Under fire alert conditions the State Forester
may allow issuance of permits at his or her discretion, taking into account
the number of fires burning in the district, current and projected weather
conditions, the ability of the person seeking the permit to contain the fire
and that individual's knowledge of fire behavior, and other factors which
may affect fires and fire behavior. A fire alert will be issued by the State
Forester for any district or portion of a district that in the opinion of
the State Forester, has existing conditions which produce extraordinary
danger from fire or smoke.
(3) If subsequent to issuance of a permit a lawfully authorized fire
escapes to the lands of another and an investigation reveals that the permit
holder did not meet all the criteria as set forth above, the fire will be
treated as if no legal authorization had been obtained.
(4) A burning permit once issued may be revoked if the person requesting
the permit fails to comply with proper burning procedures or if weather
conditions develop which may result in erratic fire or smoke behavior.
(d) An area shall be deemed legally placed under organized forest fire
protection by the State Forestry Commission of the State of Alabama upon
proclamation of the State Forester. Such proclamation shall describe the
lands placed in said area and shall be published once a week for two
consecutive weeks in a newspaper published in the county where the lands
composing said area are located. If there are no newspapers published in the
county where said lands are located, then said proclamation shall be
published in a newspaper of an adjoining county. In the event the lands
composing said area are located in more than one county, such proclamation
shall be so published in a newspaper in each county where said lands are
located. Beginning with the twelfth day after the first publication of said
proclamation in said newspaper or newspapers, the lands described in the
proclamation shall be deemed in an area under organized forest fire
protection. Upon the trial of any person, firm, or corporation for the
violation of any provision of this section, a certified copy of said
proclamation executed by the State Forester shall be admissible in evidence
and shall be conclusive evidence of the fact that the lands described in
said proclamation constitute an area under organized forest fire protection
within the meaning of this section.
(e) All moneys collected for any violation of this section as fines,
forfeitures, etc., shall go to the Alabama Forestry Commission Fund and
shall be used in defraying the expense of the administration of such State
Forestry Commission.
(Acts 1939, No. 492, p. 711, §1; Code 1940, T. 8, §204; Acts 1943,
No. 464, p. 426, §1; Acts 1980, No. 80-743, p. 1512, §1; Act 98-603, p.
1321, §1.)