Campfire and open burning ban for B.C.’s South Coast starts Wednesday

Campfires and open burning across the South Coast will be banned starting at noon on Wednesday.

The ban comes as heat and dry conditions have significantly increased the fire danger across the province.

The ban does not apply to cooking stoves or portable campfire units, so long as their flames are less than 15 centimetres.

The following activities are prohibited:

• open fires that burn woody debris in outdoor stoves
• the use of stoves and other portable campfire apparatuses that are not CSA-approved or ULC-approved
• the use of tiki torches, fireworks, firecrackers, sky lanterns, chimineas, burning barrels or burning cages of any size or description
• the use of binary exploding targets (e.g. for rifle target practice).

The Coastal Fire Centre says the order includes the entire Lower Mainland, the Sunshine Coast, the Gulf Islands and most of Vancouver Island, except for the “western fog zone.”

Haida Gwaii is also excluded from the ban, which is set to last until Oct. 19.

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