Village of Queen Charlotte fire chief Larry Duke is reminding the public backyard burning is still prohibited on Haida Gwaii.

Duke posted concerns on the village’s Facebook page June 11, hinting some residents may not understand Haida Gwaii belongs to the Coastal Fire Centre.

“The Northwest Fire Centre has lifted the backyard burning prohibition —this does not include Haida Gwaii,” he wrote.

While the wildfire danger on the islands is rated as ‘low,’ prohibitions for the Coastal Fire Centre went into effect May 30 on Category 2 open burns, to which backyard burning typically applies. Anyone found in violation can be fined $1,150.

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The prohibition does not apply to larger Category 3 fires, or small campfires and barbecues.

A poster explaining the different categories of open burning is available online at www.gov.bc.ca/openfireregs.

The Coastal Fire Centre covers all of the area west of the Coast Mountain Range from 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.

Anyone lighting a campfire must maintain a fireguard by removing flammable debris from around the campfire area and have a hand tool or at least eight litres of water available nearby to properly extinguish the fire.

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