As the days grow warmer and drier, officials announced campfires will be prohibited across Salt Spring Island — and across the Coastal Fire Centre region — as of noon Thursday, July 17.
Salt Spring Island Fire Rescue Chief Jamie Holmes confirmed Wednesday the district was following the broader regional ban on campfires, which had been allowed so far this summer even while other sorts of backyard burning had been prohibited. This year’s prohibition on recreational fires comes at roughly the same time as a similar ban last year, when campfires joined the list of already prohibited burning activities on July 12, 2024.
The broader notice on Thursday’s ban came Tuesday through the BC Wildfire Service. Apart from an exclusion in the Haida Gwaii Forest District and the portion of the Central Coast Regional District that falls within the North Island Central Coast Forest District, the region is prohibiting fires of all sizes on both public and private land –– an effort to prevent human-caused wildfires and protect public safety, officials said.
In addition to campfires and open burning, fireworks, sky lanterns, burn barrels or burn cages, binary exploding targets, air curtain burners, Tiki (and similar) torches and chimineas are also prohibited. This prohibition does not include the use of stoves used outdoors for “cooking, heat or ambiance,” according to wildfire regulations, which burn charcoal briquettes, liquid or gaseous fuel, and have a flame height less than 15 cm tall.
Anyone who lights, fuels or uses an open fire when a fire prohibition is in place or fails to comply with an open fire prohibition may be issued a ticket for $1,150 or, if convicted in court, be fined up to $100,000 and/or sentenced to one year in jail. If the contravention causes or contributes to a wildfire, the person responsible may be subject to a penalty of up to $100,000 and ordered to pay all firefighting and associated costs, according to the Coastal Fire Centre.
For the latest information on current wildfire activity, burning restrictions, road closures and air quality advisories, visit bcwildfire.ca. The saltspringfire.com website has more local information, including a “cheat sheet” describing restrictions related to high-risk activities such as chainsawing and mechanical land clearing.