All campfires and open-burning are now banned at Ferry Island, adding to the fire ban already in place for the rest of the city.
Effectively immediately, no open burning is permitted at the campground and the public is asked to refrain from using open flame or smoking on the Ferry Island, Howe Creek, or Terrace Mountain trails.
Extremely hot weather and dry conditions have created dangerous fire conditions in the region, prompting this ban. With an extreme fire danger rating for the northwest, new fires will start easily and quickly get out of control, say fire officials.
The decision by the city comes after the provincial government issued a province-wide ban July 3.
“This is such a volatile time, anything could set a fire off,” said Dave Jephson, deputy fire chief of the Terrace Fire Department.
“If you are doing something that could cause a fire, you need to evaluate what you are doing and not do that,” he said.
Jephson says this includes refraining from smoking near grass or trees, using extreme caution with open flame such as camp stoves, and not using machinery that could cause a spark.
Currently, most of the B.C. is considered an extreme wildfire risk and smoke from unmanageable wildfires is blanketing parts of the southern half of the province.
The City of Terrace originally implemented a municipal ban on fires last week after provincial fire officials prohibited burning in most of the northwest.
The city’s ban did not include Ferry Island at the time because it is a closely “controlled campground and the nature of the trees on the island are not as conducive to burn,” said Jephson.
But as the dry conditions continued, the city because increasingly concerned that a fire could start there.
Under the fire prohibition, any open fires including campfires, those with a burn registration number, and industrial burning are banned in the city and the province.
Camp stoves that are not CSA or ULC approved as well as fireworks, firecrackers, tiki torches, sky lanterns, chimineas, burning barrels, and binary exploding targets are also forbidden.
This ban will remain in place until the public is notified otherwise.
To report smoke, flames, unattended campfires or non-compliant open burning, call 1-800-663-5555 or dial *5555 on your cell phone. If you are within the city limits, phone 9-1-1 immediately.
