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Fire ban in effect

The North Island’s seasonal open fire restriction went into effect Tuesday.

The North Island’s seasonal open fire restriction went into effect Tuesday, allowing small campfires but limiting the size and types of open fires that may be burned.

The summer fire ban went into effect at noon June 3 across the Coastal Fire Centre, to help prevent human-caused wildfires and protect the public. This prohibition will remain in effect until Oct. 15 or until the public is otherwise notified, the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations announced this week.

This prohibition covers all BC Parks, Crown lands and private lands within the Coastal Fire Centre, with the exception of Haida Gwaii and the area known as the “Fog Zone”, along the west and north coast of Vancouver Island.

It does not apply within the boundaries of a local government that has wildfire prevention bylaws in place and is serviced by a fire department. Before lighting any fire, residents should check with local civic authorities regarding any current prohibitions.

Specific activities affected by this prohibition include:

• The burning of any material, piled or unpiled, smaller than two metres in height and three metres in width, including burning barrels;

• The burning of stubble or grass over an area less than 2,000 square metres (0.2 hectares);

• The use of burning barrels of any size or description.

This prohibition does not ban campfires that are a half-metre high by a half-metre wide or smaller and does not apply to cooking stoves that use gas, propane or briquettes.

Anyone lighting a campfire must maintain a fireguard by removing flammable debris from around the campfire area and have a hand tool or at least eight litres of water nearby to properly extinguish the fire.

For the latest information on fire activity, conditions and prohibitions, visit www.gov.bc.ca/connect. To report a wildfire or unattended campfire, call 1-800-663-5555 toll-free or call *5555 on your cellphone.