Campfires are once again permitted in the Campbell River Natural Resource District, within the Coastal Fire Centre's jurisdiction, Effective at noon on Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2015.
And the City of Campbell River is lifting the ban on open fires within city limits as well.
The BC Wildfire's lifting of fire ban means campfires are permitted on Vancouver Island:
- north of Hindoo Creek (near Buckley Bay)
- in Strathcona Provincial Park
- north of Nootka Sound
Campfires are also permitted on the mainland:
- east of a line drawn from Moh Creek (on the north shore of Butte Inlet) up to and including Tweedsmuir South Provincial Park
The Coastal Fire Centre is lifting the campfire prohibition in these areas due to the amount of precipitation that was recently received and a forecast of additional precipitation in the coming days.
Campfires are also allowed in the North Island-Central Coast Natural Resource District, the "Fog Zone" and Haida Gwaii. The Fog Zone is a band of land on the west coast of Vancouver Island that's two kilometres wide and runs from Owen Point near Port Renfrew to the eastern boundary of the District of Port Hardy.
A detailed map of affected areas is available online here.
The City of Campbell River is lifting the ban on open fires within city boundaries to align with the Ministry of Forests Coastal Fire Centre lifting its campfire ban in certain areas.
“The Fire Department urges people to continue to be very careful with campfires or beach fires,” says deputy fire chief Chris Vrabel. “Thank you again to everyone whose responsible behaviour has helped keep our community safe and enjoyable this summer.”
Residents are reminded that burning wood for recreational purposes is limited to using a permanent outdoor fireplace, barbecue or fire pit not larger than 60 centimetres (24 inches) in diameter that is designed and constructed to confine the fire. Recreational fires include fires used for the purposes of cooking food and providing heat.
Questions? Contact the Campbell River Fire Department at 250-286-6266.
A list of popular recreational destinations that also shows whether campfires are allowed at those sites is available online here.
All other types of open fires remain prohibited throughout the Coastal Fire Centre's jurisdiction, including backyard burning and land-clearing burn piles. Burning barrels, burning cages, fireworks, firecrackers, tiki torches, sky lanterns and binary exploding targets are also prohibited.
This prohibition does 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.
This prohibition does not apply within the boundaries of a local government that has wildfire prevention bylaws in place and is serviced by a fire department. However, since local governments may have their own burning regulations in place, always check with them before lighting any fire of any size.
Anyone found in contravention of an open burning prohibition may be issued a ticket for $345, required to pay an administrative penalty of $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.
Learn more about open burning and current burning prohibitions.
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.
To report a wildfire, abandoned campfire or open burning 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 here.
You can also follow the latest wildfire news on:
- Twitter at http://twitter.com/BCGovFireInfo
- Facebook at http://facebook.com/BCForestFireInfo