Campfires are once again allowed in the Tri-port area.
Effective at noon on Tuesday, July 28, 2015, campfires are once again permitted in the North Island-Central Coast Natural Resource District within the Coastal Fire Centre’s jurisdiction. Campfires will be permitted on Vancouver Island North of Robson Bight, in the Nimpkish Valley and North of Nordstrom Creek on the Brooks Peninsula, on the outer coast of Vancouver Island.
Campfires are also allowed in the “Fog Zone” and on Haida Gwaii.
The Fog Zone is a band of land on the west coast of Vancouver Island that is two kilometres wide and runs from Owen Point near Port Renfrew to the eastern boundary of the District of Port Hardy. It does not include Port Hardy.
The Coastal Fire Centre is lifting the campfire prohibition in these areas due to the amount of precipitation that was recently received and the forecast for additional precipitation in the coming days.
All other types of open fires remain prohibited throughout the Coastal Fire Centre’s jurisdictional area, including backyard burning and land-clearing burn piles.
Burning barrels, burning cages, fireworks, firecrackers, tiki torches, sky lanterns and binary exploding targets are also prohibited.
This prohibition does not apply to CSA-rated or ULC-rated cooking stoves that use gas, propane or briquettes, or to a portable campfire apparatus that uses briquettes, liquid or gaseous fuel, so long as the height of the flame is less than 15 centimetres.
This prohibition does not apply within the boundaries of a local government that has wildfire prevention bylaws in place and is serviced by a fire department.
However, since local governments may have their own burning regulations in place, always check with them before lighting any fire of any size.
Anyone found in contravention of an open burning prohibition may be issued a ticket for $345, required to pay an administrative penalty of $10,000 or, if convicted in court, fined up to $100,000 and/or sentenced to one year in jail. If the contravention causes or contributes to a wildfire, the person responsible may be ordered to pay all firefighting and associated costs.
The Coastal Fire Centre covers all of the area west of the height of land on the Coast Mountain Range from the U.S.-Canada border at Manning Park, including Tweedsmuir South Provincial Park in the north, the Sunshine Coast, the Lower Mainland, Vancouver Island, the Gulf Islands and Haida Gwaii.
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