Effective at noon on Saturday, June 27, 2015 within the Coastal Fire Centre’s jurisdiction, campfires will only be allowed on northern Vancouver Island, the mid-coast portion of the mainland and on Haida Gwaii.  

The Coastal Fire Centre is implementing this partial campfire ban due to dry forest fuel conditions and rising temperatures. It is intended to help prevent human-caused wildfires and protect public safety, and it will remain in effect until the public is notified otherwise.

This prohibition covers all BC Parks, Crown lands and private lands within the Coastal Fire Centre, within the following areas:

On Vancouver Island:

• South of Robson Bight
• South of the Nimpkish Valley
• South of Nordstrom Creek on Brooks Peninsula on the outer coast of Vancouver Island, with the exception of the area known as the “Fog Zone” (The Fog Zone is a band of land two kilometres wide that runs south from Nordstrom Creek to Owen Point near Port Renfrew.)

On the mainland

• South of Knight Inlet

A map of the affected areas is available online at: http://bit.ly/1QRWpkp

All other types of open fires remain prohibited throughout the Coastal Fire Centre’s jurisdictional area, including backyard burning or land-clearing burn piles. Burning barrels, burning cages, fireworks, firecrackers, sky lanterns and binary exploding targets are also prohibited.

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 local authorities before lightning a fire of any size.

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.

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 at http://bcwildfire.ca/hprScripts/WildfireNews/Bans.asp

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, 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 http://www.bcwildfire.ca

You can also follow the latest wildfire news on:

• Twitter at https://twitter.com/BCGovFireInfo
• Facebook at http://facebook.com/BCForestFireInfo

Media Contacts:

Donna MacPherson or Marg Drysdale
Fire Information Officer
Wildfire Management Branch
Coastal Fire Centre
250 951-4209