Un-permitted brush burn starts fire at Old Lantern Inn

What began as an un-permitted, controlled brush burn by a Charlotte landowner on Greenbush Road was likely the culprit for a fire at the Old Lantern Inn at approximately 12:45pm on Monday.

Fire crews first responded to a brush fire, and quickly realized that the Old Lantern Inn had caught fire. According to reports, the initial investigation suggest that wind blew embers to the Inn and started that blaze. Firefighters cited dry weather as a contributing factor.

No one was injured. And the damage, a burn through an exterior wall that also damaged the interior floor, is what firefighters consider minor. “When I received the call I was in Burlington,” Lisa Gaujac, co-owner of the Inn shared. “By the time I arrived at the site all the fire crews were there, and thankfully so were some of the contractors. Everyone is on task to complete the repairs for a wedding next weekend,” she said from her car on the way to her daughter’s college graduation in Boston. “There has been a tremendous outpouring of community support. We are very blessed.”

According to the Division of Fire Safety of the Vermont Department of Public Safety, “Dry and breezy conditions across Vermont are expected to continue into this weekend which will likely continue the High to Very High Fire Danger in Vermont, according to Vermont Department of Forests, Parks & Recreation.”

Shelburne Fire Warden Craig Wooster notified The Citizen on Tuesday afternoon that “the State has issued a ban on burn permits for the State beginning at 3pm today and lasting until May 19 due to the dry conditions.”

In the future, residents planning on burning brush piles, or conducting any other type of open burn, must first obtain a permit. To do so, Charlotte and Hinesburg residents should call the Shelburne Police non-emergency line at (802) 985-8051. Permits rely on a variety of factors, including wind speed and even whether or not there is low cloud cover, according to Wooster.