Starting today (June 3) Coastal Fire Centre is restricting the size of open fires for the summer season to help prevent human-caused wildfires.
The prohibition covers all B.C. Parks, Crown and private lands within the Coastal Fire Centre region, with the exception of Haida Gwaii and the area known as the "Fog Zone" and is in effect until Oct. 15 or the public is notified otherwise. It does not apply in areas with existing wildfire prevention bylaws and serviced by a fire department.
Before lighting any fire, residents should check with local civic authorities regarding any current prohibitions.
The prohibition bans burning of any material, piled or not piled, smaller than two metres in height and three metres wide, the use of burning barrels of any size or description and burning of grass or stubble.
There is no ban on campfires smaller than a half-metre high by half-metre wide or cooking stoves that burn gas, propane or briquettes.
Anyone breaching the prohibition ca be fined up to $100,000 and sentenced to one year in jail. If the contravention causes or contributes to a wildfire, the person could be fined up to $10,000 and ordered to pay all firefighting and associated costs.
For the latest information on fire activity, conditions and prohibitions, please visit the Wildfire Management Branch website at: www.bcwildfire.ca.