Effective at noon Wednesday, June 23rd, most open burning activities will be prohibited throughout the Coastal Fire Centre.
This prohibition is being introduced to help reduce wildfire risk and protect public safety.
Category 2 and Category 3 open fires will be prohibited throughout the Coastal Fire Centre’s jurisdiction with the exception of Haida Gwaii.
This prohibition applies to all public and private land, unless specified otherwise (e.g., in a local government bylaw). People are asked to check with local government authorities for any other restrictions before lighting any fire.
Specifically, this prohibition refers to the following activities:
“category 2 open fire” which means an open fire, other than a campfire, that
- a) burns material in one pile not exceeding 2 m in height and 3 m in width,
- b) burns material concurrently in 2 piles each not exceeding 2 m in height and 3 m in width, or
- c) burns stubble or grass over an area that does not exceed 0.2 ha.
“category 3 open fire” which means an open fire that burns
- a) material concurrently in 3 or more piles each not exceeding 2 m in height and 3 m in width,
- b) material in one or more piles each exceeding 2 m in height or 3 m in width,
- c) one or more windrows, or
- d) stubble or grass over an area exceeding 0.2 ha.
Other prohibited activities include fireworks, sky Lanterns; binary exploding targets; burn barrels or burn cages of any size or description; and, air curtain burners.
This prohibition does not apply to campfires that are a half‐metre high by a half‐metre wide or smaller, or 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 available nearby to properly extinguish the fire.
If you don’t follow the burn ban, you could face a violation ticket for $1,150 or even face jail time.
A map of the affected areas is available online on the Coastal Fire Centre’s website.
