Coastal Fire Centre enacts campfire prohibition



PARKSVILLE – Effective at noon Pacific Daylight Time on Friday, July 7, 2023, campfires will be prohibited throughout the Coastal Fire Centre, except the Haida Gwaii Forest District. This prohibition 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 (e.g., in a local government bylaw). Always check with local government authorities to see if any other burning restrictions are in effect.

This prohibition will be in place until Tuesday, October 31, 2023, or until the order is rescinded.

A map of the affected area is provided below and available online:

On July 7, 2023, the below open fires are prohibited in the Coastal Fire Centre, with the exception of the Haida Gwaii Forest District where Category 1 campfires are still permitted:

  • Category 1 campfires as defined in the Wildfire Regulation;
  • Category 2 open fire as defined in the Wildfire Regulation; and,
  • Category 3 open fire as defined in the Wildfire Regulation.

In addition to open fires being prohibited, the following activities and equipment are also restricted:

  • 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.

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.

To learn more about the different categories of open burning, visit the Open Burning webpage.

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. If the contravention causes or contributes to a wildfire, the person responsible may be subject to a penalty of up to $100,000 and ordered to pay all firefighting and associated costs.

The Coastal Fire Centre covers all 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 cell phone. For the latest information on current wildfire activity, burning restrictions, road closures and air quality advisories, go to: http://www.bcwildfire.ca

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Contact:

Fire Information Officer
BC Wildfire Service
Coastal Fire Centre
250 951-4209

Connect with the Province of B.C. at www.gov.bc.ca/connect