Campfires will be prohibited in the Coastal Fire Centre with the exception of Haida Gwaii and the area known as the fog zone as of Wednesday, July 18 at noon.
“The Coastal Fire Centre is implementing these prohibitions due to high temperatures and no rain in the immediate forecast,” said fire information officer Donna MacPherson.
Since April 1, 2018, 69% of wildfires in the Coastal Fire Centre have been caused by people.
“Human-caused wildfires are entirely preventable, and can divert critical firefighting resources away from naturally occurring wildfires,” said MacPherson.
The prohibitions do 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.
The following activities are also prohibited:
- open fires that burn woody debris in outdoor stoves
- the use of stoves and other portable campfire apparatuses that are not CSA-approved or ULC-approved
- the use of tiki torches, fireworks, firecrackers, sky lanterns, chimineas, burning barrels or burning cages of any size or description
- the use of binary exploding targets (e.g. for rifle target practice)
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.
The prohibition will remain until Oct. 19, 2018, or until the public is otherwise notified.
(With Files from BC Wildfire Service)