Thursday, March 28, 2024

Campfire ban goes into effect on Vancouver Island tomorrow

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Starting at noon on Thursday, July 6, 2017, the BC Wildfire Service will prohibit open fires in the Coastal Fire Centre’s jurisdiction.

Increasing temperatures and a lack of forecasted precipitation prompted the ban, which will remain in effect until Oct. 21, 2017, or until the public is otherwise notified.

To view the boundaries of the Coastal Fire Centre area, see below.

Fire zones
Photo by gov.bc.ca

For now, only two areas will be excluded from prohibition: Haida Gwaii and the “Fog Zone”.

The “Fog Zone” stretches along the coast of Vancouver Island from Owen Point to Port Hardy. For a full map of the area, click here.

The ban also won’t apply within the boundaries of local governments that have wildfire prevention bylaws in place and are serviced by a fire department.

CSA-rated or ULC-rated cooking stoves that use gas, propane or briquettes are still permitted, as are portable campfire apparatuses that use briquettes, liquid or gaseous fuel, so long as the flame height remains less than 15 centimetres.

The prohibition covers the following activities everywhere else within the CFC: 
  • Campfires
  • Category 2 open fires
  • Category 3 open fires
  • Fires burning woody debris in outdoor stoves
  • The use of tiki torches, fireworks, firecrackers, sky lanterns, burning barrels or burning cages of any size or description
  • The use of binary exploding targets (e.g. for rifle target practice)

For more information on the different categories of open burning, check out: www.gov.bc.ca/openfireregs

Tickets for contravention can cost up to $1,150. $10,000 administrative penalties may also take effect. Court convictions may result in fines up to $100,000 and/or sentences of up to one year in jail.

For contraventions causing or contributing to wildfires, the perpetrators may also have to pay all firefighting and associated costs.

To report a wildfire or open burning violation, call 1 800 663-5555 toll-free or *5555 on a cellphone. For the latest information on current wildfire activity, burning restrictions, road closures, and air quality advisories go to: http://www.bcwildfire.ca

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Alistair Ogden
Former staff writer at Victoria Buzz.

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