While the recent rains may have put a damper on outdoor plans for many, they’ve also resulted in the end of the ban on campfires in the region.
The Coastal Fire Centre rescinded its ban on open fires last week due to a decreased risk of wildfires.
“The Ladysmith area is in low fire danger rating right now,” said fire information officer Donna MacPherson, who reminds residents that local government might have different regulations.
Backyard burning is banned completely in the Town of Ladysmith and several other communities in the Cowichan Valley Regional District. But those heading off into the woods for a weekend getaway can now enjoy a campfire. Campfires must be no larger than a half-metre wide by a half-metre tall. People who light campfires are reminded to have a hand tool, such as a shovel, or at least eight litres of water nearby to fully extinguish the campfire.
MacPherson said late September is a fairly common time to see the fire danger decrease to a point where campfires are permitted.
“I think last year was a little bit later because those fall rains held off until mid-October. But this particular system that came on shore came on pretty hard,” she said.
The Coastal Fire Centre has seen 173 fires this year, burning a total of 1,580 hectares.
“We had a surprisingly lower amount of fires than the fire season warranted. We had a fairly dry summer but we’ve come in under the total number of fires we normally see on a 10-year average,” said MacPherson. “And the person-caused fires are down, which is another good part of this. I think people are starting to get the message about fire safety.”
She said the lower number of fires in the Coastal area allowed fire crews to be dispatched to other areas of the province that saw a higher number of fires.
Two of the largest fires on Vancouver Island occurred in the area of Twaddle Lake (about 80 km west of Campbell River) as well as Nimpkish Lake (40 km south of Port McNeill).
“Both of those were in very steep terrain. There were really steep cliffs with a lot of debris falling off the cliffs,” said MacPherson.
Across the province, there have been 1,418 fires, consuming 359,256 hectares, the vast majority in the Northwest and Prince George fire centres.
The rescinding of this prohibition applies to all BC Parks, Crown and private lands, but does not apply within the boundaries of local governments that have forest fire prevention bylaws and are serviced by a fire department
The Coastal Fire Centre covers all of the area west of the height of land on the Coast Mountain Range north of 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 or unattended campfire, call 1 800 663-5555 toll-free or *5555 on a cellphone. For the latest information on current wildfire activity, burning restrictions, road closures and air quality advisories, go to: http://www.bcwildfire.ca.
