Beach fires will likely be banned soon at two of the only remaining legal sites in the capital region, Metchosin Mayor John Ranns said Monday.
Bans across the capital region have pushed too many users to Taylor Road beach and Sandgate Road beach, damaging the environment and creating fire hazards, he said.
“I’m not happy about it at all. I’ve been on council since 1987 and I never thought it would come to this,” Ranns said.
“[Beach fires are] such a good family activity.”
Fires less than two feet in diameter are currently permitted at both the Taylor Road beach and Sandgate Road beach, as long as there is no provincial ban in effect, which can occur in dry conditions.
But visitors often make bigger fires, burn inappropriate materials and fail to extinguish the fires properly. They also leave garbage and broken bottles on the beach.
Fire chief Stephanie Dunlop said it’s a disaster waiting to happen.
“The road to Taylor Road beach is oftentimes so crowded with vehicles that we can’t get fire trucks down,” she said.
On Monday, Dunlop was called to a beach fire at Albert Head beach, where fires aren’t permitted. The fire wasn’t properly extinguished and had spread through the inside of a large log, making it harder to put out, she said.
The fire department encourages anyone planning to have a beach fire at a legal site to contact the department first, to ensure regulations are followed.
Dunlop said beach fires take up a lot of time for the volunteer department, which responds to about four calls per week, in addition to conducting patrols.
“If everybody used the beaches respectfully, maybe we wouldn’t have this issue and maybe everyone could enjoy it. But unfortunately, that’s not the case,” Dunlop said.
District environmental surveys have found the beaches provide an important habitat for forage fish, which lay their eggs there, said Coun. Moralea Milne, who chairs council’s environment committee.
Forage fish, which include Pacific sand lance and surf smelt, are an important food source for salmon, marine mammals and other species, she said.
“All the beach fires could easily kill them off. They’re adding pollutants into the sand and heat from the fire [isn’t] good for them at all,” Milne said.
During a beach cleanup, broken glass and nails from burnt pallets were also found in and around fire pits — a concern for parents who bring their kids to the area, she said.
“We brought a big magnet and dragged it through some of the pits and collected more than 20 pounds of nails,” Milne said.
Although a beach-fire ban has not been formally added to council’s agenda, she plans to support it when it comes up.
“Now that we’re the only place where people can come for beach fires, we have the whole CRD coming here. It’s a nice rite of passage as a teen to come down to the beach and have a fire with your buddies. But with so many people coming, it’s become a huge problem,” she said.
“It’s a shame, it really is. But just like everything else, when too many people love it, it’s loved to death.”
