Wildfires across the province on Sept. 28. Credit: BC Wildfire Service
Following rainfall and cooler temperatures in the region, open fires will once again be allowed in the Coastal Fire Centre on Friday.
Starting at noon, Category 2 and Category 3 open fires will be permitted, as well as tiki torches, burn barrels, fireworks, sky lanterns and binary exploding targets. The campfire ban in the Coastal Fire Centre was lifted on Sept. 18.
A Category 2 fire is a fire with one to two concurrently burning piles no larger than two metres high by three metres wide or stubble or grass burning over an area fewer than 0.2 hectares. A Category 3 fire is a fire that burns material more than two metres high or three metres wide, stubble or grass over more than 2,000 square metres or more than two piles of any size. Anyone lighting a Category 3 fire has to get a burn registration number by calling 1-888-797-1717.
Municipal governments may have other burning restrictions in place, so residents are asked to check with their local government before lighting any fire.
The B.C. Wildfire Service is advising anyone burning open fires ensure that enough people, water and tools are on hand to control the fire. People are also reminded to not burn in windy conditions, create a fire guard around the planned fire site, never leave a fire unattended and make sure a fire is fully extinguished before leaving the area.
The Coastal Fire Centre covers all of 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.
Alexa Huffman
