Image: BC Wildfire Service / A map of the Lower Mainland (yellow) shows where campfires are generally allowed, subject to local restrictions. However, as the Chilliwack Fire Department pointed out late Wednesday evening (June 21), campfires are still banned within the city of Chilliwack. Campfires remain banned on Vancouver Island.

By Mike Vanden Bosch

Campfire ban lifted, but not in Chilliwack

Campfire ban lifted for parts of BC, but ban still in effect for Chilliwack itself

Jun 21, 2023 | 10:13 PM

CHILLIWACK — Several days of rain and cooler temperatures have prompted provincial fire authorities to permit campfires within parts of British Columbia.

However, don’t get your hopes up for lighting any campfires within Chilliwack.

The Chilliwack Fire Department posted on social media Wednesday night (June 21) that while a provincial campfire ban has been partially lifted, campfires are still banned within the city of Chilliwack.

“While the campfire ban has been rescinded, a reminder there are still no campfires allowed in the City of Chilliwack,” Chilliwack Fire wrote on Facebook at 9:42 p.m. Wednesday.

Between June 8 and June 21 when the campfire ban was still in effect throughout the province, the Chilliwack Fire Department and Chilliwack River Valley Fire Department responded to multiple burning complaints and reminded residents of the burning bylaw.

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Effective at noon Wednesday, June 21, the B.C. Wildfire Service announced that category 1 fires (campfires) will once again be permitted in the Sea to Sky Resource District, Sunshine Coast Resource District, the Chilliwack Resource District, and the portion of the Central Coast Regional District that falls within the North Island Central Coast Resource District.

This change will be implemented due to cooler conditions and rainfall, which has reduced the fire danger rating in these areas. However, if conditions change, prohibitions may once again be enacted.

Campfires will remain prohibited on Vancouver Island and most Gulf Islands – along with tiki and similar kind of torches and chimineas — until October 31, 2023, or until the order is rescinded.

Category 2 and Category 3 fires will remain prohibited throughout the Coastal Fire Centre, and effective at noon Pacific Daylight Time on Wednesday, June 21, 2023, this will also include the Haida Gwaii Resource District. This prohibition is being enacted to help prevent human-caused wildfires and protect public safety and will be in place until Tuesday, October 31, 2023, or until the order is rescinded.

The Category 2 and Category 3 prohibition also restricts the following activities and equipment:

• Fireworks
• Sky Lanterns
• Burn Barrels or Burn Cages of any size or description
• Binary Exploding Targets
• Air curtain burners

The use of outdoor stoves is not prohibited. As per the Wildfire Regulation, an outdoor stove is a CSA-rated or ULC-rated device used outdoors for cooking, heat or ambiance that burns charcoal briquettes, liquid fuel or gaseous fuel, and has a flame height that is less than 15 cm tall.

These prohibitions apply to all public and private land within the Coastal Fire Centre jurisdiction, unless specified otherwise in an enactment (e.g., in a local government bylaw). Always check with local government authorities to see if any other burning restrictions are in effect.

A map of the affected areas is available online: https://ow.ly/BtFy50OTioY

Penalties still remain for violators who recklessly cause forest fires. For example, 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.

The Coastal Fire Centre covers all the area west of the height of land on 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.

To report a wildfire, call 1 800 663-5555 toll-free or *5555 on a cell phone. For the latest information on current wildfire activity, burning restrictions, road closures and air quality advisories, go to: http://www.bcwildfire.ca