Fire ban coming for coastal B.C. following heat wave

(File Photo)

With unseasonably high temperatures sweeping B.C., the province is banning most types of fires in coastal communities starting this week.

The Coastal Fire Centre, which includes Vancouver Island, the Lower Mainland, the Sunshine Coast and the Gulf Islands, will be banning all category two and three fires starting noon Thursday, May 18.

(Coastal Fire Centre)Fireworks, sky lanterns, burn barrels and burn cages, binary exploding targets and air curtain burners will also be prohibited starting May 18.

Category one fires, such as campfires that are no larger than half a metre high and half a metre wide, will not be banned, as well as cooking stoves that use gas, propane, or briquettes.

That being said, the Coastal Fire Centre is reminding residents that campfires must but enclosed in a fireguard, meaning all flammable debris around a campfire area must be removed. Additionally, at least eight litres of water or a hand tool must be nearby to properly put out the fire.

Haida Gwaii is also exempt from the fire ban starting on May 18.

"Even if we do go into a downturn in the weather, which is possible for June, the potential for holdover fires is higher due to the current dry conditions, and that is another underlying reason to enact a ban this week," said the Coastal Fire Centre in a statement Tuesday.

"At the same time, the Coastal Fire Centre is now in wildfire season. We are continuing to support our neighbours and other fire centres, while maintaining resources for the Coastal Fire Centre, so this prohibition is an additional tool for prevention that we can and do use to help reduce human-caused wildfires."

A full list of category two and three fire activities can be found below: