Metro Vancouver has issued an extreme fire danger rating for the region’s parks ahead of the B.C. day long weekend.
The rating is expected to remain in effect until there is “significant rainfall.”
For the time being, the majority of Metro Vancouver’s parks will remain open, and potential future closures will be assessed on a case by case basis.
Two Metro Vancouver parks are now closed: the Sumas Mountain Interregional Park and a section of the Delta-South Surrey Regional Greenway next to Delta’s Watershed Park.
Delta also closed five of its own parks on Thursday due to the fire risk.
The move comes as B.C. grapples with extreme hot and dry conditions, with more than half of the province under a fire danger rating of either “high” or “extreme.”
Metro Vancouver is warning anyone who does use the park system to be extra vigilant about any possible fire sources.
Under the ‘extreme’ rating, campfires and barbecue briquettes are banned in regional parks. Propane barbecues and gas stoves are permitted in approved facilities, but have been banned in several municipalities.
Metro Vancouver said park officers will be patrolling this weekend monitoring the situation, and warned violators could be fined between $500 and $1,000.
Anyone who sees a fire in a regional park is asked to call 911.
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