Every spring and autumn, dry grass, bushes, and trees catch fire due to arson or careless handling of fire. Wind quickly spreads the flames, leading to large-scale fires. The city’s Department of Ecology and Natural Resources, together with the Lviv Ecological Council, dispel four main myths about burning dry vegetation.
- First myth: burning grass improves soil fertility. In reality, ash only partially enriches the soil with microelements, and weed seeds at depth remain intact.
- Second myth: burning helps to get rid of ticks and snakes. Fire does not destroy all egg clutches and tick larvae, which animals can carry.
- Third myth: smoke from fires is harmless to health. In fact, it contains toxic substances like carbon monoxide and heavy metals.
- Fourth myth: fire can be controlled without threats. Arson often causes forest fires, harming wildlife and threatening human safety.
Recently, a large fire occurred in the village of Pidbirtsi of the Lviv community on an area of 5,000 sq.m with a threat of spreading to forested areas. Lviv City Council reminds of the harmfulness and illegality of such actions: offenders face significant fines.
The fine for unauthorized burning ranges from 3,060 to 6,120 UAH for citizens and from 15,300 to 21,420 UAH for officials. In nature reserves, these amounts double. The best option is composting leaves and grass, which turns into fertilizer.
There is a composting station operating in Lviv, where organic matter is brought from all over the city for processing into useful feed for agriculture and horticulture.