I don't know if it’s the sunnier weather we’ve been getting lately, but I feel more energy, more vitality.
The winter rains are a distant memory and I’ve even had reason to don my shorts because the mercury has been rising.
Still, while the warmer weather is pleasant, people should exercise caution at this time of year.
On the B.C. Wildfire Service side, the fire danger rating for Nanaimo was moderate (as of last week), while the Cedar area was high and the wildfire service’s Coastal Fire Centre issued a ban on open burning as well.
According to Donna McPherson, coastal centre fire information officer, that ban includes burning of piles of material less than two metres high and three metres wide. Burning of stubble or grass over an area less than 2,000 square metres, setting off fireworks and the use of binary exploding targets, such as those for rifle target practice, are also prohibited.
It’s timely too given that the Fort McMurray wildfire is front and centre in the news and Nanaimo is not immune.
Capt. Ennis Mond, of Fire and Loss Prevention Division for the City of Nanaimo, recently told the Nanaimo News Bulletin of a fire in the Comox Road area where cigarette butts were found nearby, although the cause has not been determined. There were also reports of bark mulch fires in the Southgate area.
While the fire danger rating hasn’t reached the extreme mark yet – extremely dry forest fuels and serious risk of fire, according to the wildfire service – it doesn’t hurt to be caution, given current conditions.
Mond recommends that smokers, out on their porches, not put their butts out in planters as there are no smoke detectors outside and a fire could start and fully develop before anyone is even aware.
If you’re smoking while you drive, you might want to consider not flicking your butt out the window. The conditions are becoming drier and a spark from a butt could hit some grass and start a fire that could go out of control.
Be mindful too if you’re camping and using a fire. Campfires haven’t been banned yet, but there are some rules of thumb from the B.C. government. Don’t leave fires unattended and keep water (eight litres is the suggestion) or a shovel nearby. When you’re done, pour water on the fire and make sure the ashes are cool.
Be mindful too if you’re doing yardwork in dry conditions.
Last July, a haycutter accidentally caused a fire in the Cedar area, in which five fire departments responded. The conditions were tinder dry and the fire affected an approximately 20-hectare area.
It’s dry enough that the City of Nanaimo and the Regional District of Nanaimo have implemented Stage 2 watering restrictions, with even-numbered addresses permitted to water on even numbered days and their odd-numbered counterparts allowed to do the same on odd number days.
Some rain is forecast in the coming weeks, but still it doesn’t hurt to be a little cautious.
If this summer is as dry as last summer, all it will take is a little spark to start catastrophe.
Let’s try not to let that happen.
reporter@nanaimobulletin.com