An open fire prohibition will go into effect at noon on May 7 in the Coastal Fire Centre, with the exception of Haida Gwaii.
Campfires (category one), backyard burning (category two) and industrial burning (category three) will all be prohibited, according to Julia Caranci, Coastal Fire Centre information officer.
“All three activities are going to be prohibited except that in Haida Gwaii, campfires will still be allowed. Other than that all of those prohibitions will go into effect this Thursday at noon,” Caranci said.
Over the past three weeks, the Coastal Region (Vancouver Island, Haida Gwaii, Sunshine Coast, Squamish Pemberton area and the Fraser Valley) has seen “increasing fire indices”, “very little rain” and higher than normal temperatures, according to the B.C. Wildfire Service.
“We actually don’t see any appreciable rain coming, at least in the short-term forecast,” Caranci added. “We have some suspected wildfires that are potentially have been caused by open fire use and that does include campfires.”
Mid-Vancouver Island has already recorded several wildfires this spring, near Horne Lake, Coombs, Hilliers and Ladysmith. On the mainland, there have been wildfires in the Eastern Fraser Valley, with the most recent ones near Cultus Lake and the Chehalis Lake area.
The fire prohibition is “definitely earlier than it has been the last couple of years”, Caranci said, “but not unprecedented”.
Once the prohibitions go into effect, the details will be available on the BC Wildfire Service website and app.
Anyone found in contravention of an open fire prohibition may be issued a ticket for $1,150, required to pay an administrative penalty of $10,000, or, if convicted in court, fined up to $100,000 and/or sentenced for up to one year in jail, according to the provincial government.
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