You'd think everyone would know by now what is meant by "Total Fire Ban". Perhaps it should be spelled out along with the warning on the weather report. Haven't seen that done in a while.

Last year a farmer out here lit a big bonfire the afternoon before a day of total fire ban. There were advance warnings about the danger and about the probability of a fire ban for the next day. There was no way that fire was going to go out for days. One of the rules relating to fire bans is that allowing a fire to burn is also an offence. Seems he'd not been aware of that. He reasoned that as long as he lit it before midnight he was within the law.
Cheers, Joy