Coastal Fire Centre expands campfire prohibition to the Sunshine Coast Forest District



PARKSVILLE – Effective at noon Pacific Daylight Time on Thursday, June 29, 2023, the current Category 1 (campfire) prohibition on Vancouver Island has been expanded to include the Sunshine Coast Forest District. This prohibition is being enacted to help prevent human-caused wildfires and to protect public safety.

Campfires will remain prohibited on Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands, with the addition of the Sunshine Coast Forest District– along with tiki and similar kind of torches and chimineas — until October 31, 2023, or until the order is rescinded.

Campfires will continue to be permitted in the Sea to Sky Resource District, the Chilliwack Resource District, and the portion of the Central Coast Regional District that falls within the North Island Central Coast Resource District, and the Haida Gwaii Resource District. However, if conditions change in these areas, prohibitions may once again be enacted.

Category 2 and Category 3 fires remain prohibited throughout the Coastal Fire Centre. The Category 2 and Category 3 prohibition also restricts the following activities and equipment:

  • Fireworks
  • Sky Lanterns
  • Burn Barrels or Burn Cages of any size or description
  • Binary Exploding Targets
  • Air curtain burners

The use of outdoor stoves is not prohibited. 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 these different categories of open burning, visit the Open Burning webpage.

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 additional burning restrictions are in effect.

A map of the affected areas is available online: https://ow.ly/eSah50OYNie

Human-caused wildfires are completely preventable and divert critical resources away from lightning-caused fires. Always practice safe, responsible fire-use when permitted in the backcountry. 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

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.

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.

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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