Campfire Ban for Vancouver Island
There will be fewer opportunities to toast marshmallows or hotdogs over a fire while camping on the Island or B.C. coast this weekend.
Prolonged hot and dry weather prompted the Coastal Fire Centre to issue a ban on all open burning – including campfires, fireworks, tiki torches and burning barrels – effective at noon Friday (July 23).
The ban does not apply to cooking stoves or barbecues that use gas, propane or briquettes.
The fire danger rating from south Nanaimo all the way to Victoria climbed to extreme over the past several days, said Rosalie MacAuley, Coastal Fire Centre spokeswoman.
“It’s so dry out there and if we don’t receive any precipitation, it’s going to get worse,” she said. “Over the weekend, we expect the temperatures to increase again.”
The ban applies to everywhere in the Coastal Fire Centre except for areas that have municipal bylaws in place, such as the City of Nanaimo, and the fog zone on the west side of the Island from Owen Point to Cape Scott Provincial Park and south along the coast to Port Hardy.
Ron Lambert, Nanaimo Fire Rescue chief, said the city is also banning all cooking fires, ceremonial fires and campfires at commercial campsites (campfires are already banned in the city except for at commercial campgrounds).
“We’re going to be closing it Friday as well just to be consistent with the Coastal Fire Centre,” he said, adding the city might reverse the ban if the area gets some rain but weather forecasters are predicting otherwise.
“All indications are that this trend is going to continue,” said Lambert.
Smoking will also be banned in city parks starting Friday, said Richard Harding, director of parks, recreation and culture, and anyone caught smoking by a bylaw officer can be fined.
Barbecues are also banned in city parks except in designated locations.
The bans are in place until further notification.
Anyone violating a fire ban in the Coastal Fire Centre can be issued a $345 ticket and should a wildfire occur as a result of recklessness, a person can be fined up to $1 million or spend three years in prison and be ordered to pay all firefighting and associated costs.
To report a wildfire or unattended campfire, please call 1-800-663-5555.
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