Effective today at noon, campfires will once again be permitted in Squamish. Coastal Fire Centre has rescinded an earlier order to ban all campfires in Sea to Sky Resource District and the Sunshine Coast Resource District.
The change has been implemented due to cooler conditions and rainfall, which has reduced the fire danger rating in the areas. However, if conditions change, prohibitions may once again be enacted. Campfires will remain prohibited on Vancouver Island and most Gulf Islands – along with tiki and similar kind of torches and chimineas–until October 31, 2023, or until the order is rescinded.
However, Category 2 and Category 3 fires will remain prohibited throughout the Coastal Fire Centre to prevent human caused wildfires and protect public safety until Tuesday, October 31, 2023, or until the order is rescinded. 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 and 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.
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