Parksville: Campfires will be prohibited throughout the Coastal Fire Centre from 12 pm PST onwards on Thursday.
This prohibition will not be implemented in the Haida Gwaii Forest District.
Coastal Fire Centre said this is being enacted to help prevent human caused wildfires and protect public safety.
“These prohibitions apply to all public and private land within the Coastal Fire Centre jurisdiction, unless specified otherwise in an enactment. Always check with local government authorities to see if any other burning restrictions are in effect. All categories of Open Fire use are still permitted in Haida Gwaii Forest District,” the centre said.
This prohibition will remain in place until Tuesday, October 31, or until the order is rescinded.
From June 8, Category 1 campfires, Category 2 open fire, and Category 3 open fire will be prohibited in the Coastal Fire Centre.
Several activities and equipment, including Fireworks; Sky Lanterns; Burn Barrels or Burn Cages of any size or description; Binary Exploding Targets; air curtain burners; Tiki and similar kind of torches; and, Chimineas will also be restricted.
Coastal Fire Centre said this prohibition does not include the use of outdoor stoves.
As per the Wildfire Regulation, an outdoor stove is a CSA-rated or ULC-rated device used outdoors for cooking, heat or ambiance that burns charcoal briquettes, liquid fuel or gaseous fuel, and has a flame height that is less than 15 cm tall, the centre said.
“Anyone who lights, fuels or uses an open fire when a fire prohibition is in place or fails to comply with an open fire prohibition may be issued a ticket for $1,150 or, if convicted in court, be fined up to $100,000 and/or sentenced to one year in jail,” the centre added.