With summer weather heating up, British Columbia is poised to issue a campfire ban for the coastal region.
The ban, which takes effect at noon on Thursday, will cover the entire Coastal Fire Centre, with the exception of the Haida Gwaii Forest District and the portion of the Central Coast Regional District that falls within the North Island Central Coast Forest District.
Larger Category 2 and Category 3 fires are already prohibited in the area.
If you’re within the boundaries of a town, city or regional district, check with your local government, as they can issue their own bans.
Along with open fires, fireworks, sky lanterns, burn barrels, tiki torches and a variety of other potential sources of ignition are restricted.
The ban doesn’t cover CSA- or ULC-rated stoves of devices for outdoor cooking, heat or ambiance that burn charcoal briquettes, liquid or gaseous fuels and have flames under 15 cm.
Anyone caught breaking the ban can be slapped with a ticket for $1,150, be handed an administrative penalty of $10,000, or, if convicted in court, face a $100,000 fine or a year in jail.
The ban will remain in effect until Oct. 31, or until the order is rescinded.
As of Tuesday, there were 67 active wildfires in British Columbia, the majority of them clustered in the province’s northeast.