Effective at noon Pacific time on July 24, most open burning activities will be prohibited throughout the Coastal Fire Centre’s jurisdiction, which includes Powell River and qathet Regional District areas, although campfires will still be allowed. This prohibition is being enacted to help reduce wildfire risk and protect public safety.
Coastal Fire Centre fire information officer Donna MacPherson said the prohibition is weather related.
“We’ve had the luxury of a spring where we got those nicely spaced periods of wet and nice days; now we are going into a drying period,” said MacPherson. “Temperatures are creeping up and we are finding the forests are quite dry. We’ve reached the point where we have to put the open fire prohibition in place.
“We are basically prohibiting open fires bigger than a campfire.”
According to a media release from the Coastal Fire Centre, category two and category open fires will be prohibited throughout the Coastal Fire Centre’s jurisdiction.
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.
The release states that specifically, this prohibition applies to:
Category two open fire
· Open burning of any material, piled or unpiled, smaller than two metres high and three metres wide
· Open burning of material concurrently in two piles each not exceeding two metres in height and three metres in width
· Burning of stubble or grass fires over an area smaller than 0.2 hectares.
Category three open fire
· Any fire larger than two metres high by three metres wide
· Burning of three or more concurrently burning piles no larger than two metres high by three metres wide
· Burning of one or more windrows
· Burning stubble or grass over an area greater than 0.2 hectares
Also prohibited are the activities listed below (Wildfire Act, Section 12):
Fireworks
· Sky lanterns
· Binary exploding targets
· Burn barrels or burn cages of any size or description
· Air curtain burners
The release states the 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. A poster explaining the different categories of open burning is available online at gov.bc.ca/openfireregs.
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, according to the media release.
Anyone found in contravention of an open fire prohibition may be issued a violation ticket for $1,150, required to pay an administrative penalty of up to $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.
To report a wildfire, unattended campfire or open fire 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 bcwildfire.ca.
Follow the latest wildfire news on Twitter at twitter.com/BCGovFireInfo or Facebook at facebook.com/BCForestFireInfo.
