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Campfire ban comes to Vancouver Island a month early this weekend

A campfire ban for most of Vancouver Island takes effect at noon Saturday with temperatures expected to reach record highs inland.
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Campfires will be banned on Vancouver Island this weekend.

A campfire ban for most of Vancouver Island takes effect at noon Saturday with temperatures expected to reach record highs inland.

The Coastal Fire Centre announced the ban almost a month earlier than usual due to a lack of rain and rapidly drying forests, Donna MacPherson of the B.C. government’s wildfire management branch said Thursday.

“If you look outside right now, pretty much all the grasses are cured; they’re looking a lot like they do in August,” she said.

“That’s just an indication of how dry everything is. We just didn’t get the precipitation in June that we had hoped for.”

She said things are expected to get even drier this weekend with weather experts forecasting a heat wave for much of southern B.C.

Matt MacDonald, a meteorologist with Environment Canada, said Victoria should escape the worst of the heat, given that it’s on the ocean.

“We’re looking at highs of 28 C, which is quite manageable,” he said. “But for anyone heading inland, Port Alberni is typically the hot spot of the Island. They’re going to get up to 36 C on Saturday and 35 C on Sunday, which will be record-breaking.”

MacDonald advised people to take heat-related precautions, such as drinking lots of water, staying out the sun during the peak hours from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., and keeping an eye on the young and elderly.

“Just don’t overdo it and take it easy,” he said.

“And the important reminder, never to leave children or pets in cars for any amount of time.”

The heat wave will ease slightly on Sunday, but with the potential for lightning without rain.

“Clearly, that’s not a good equation for forest fires,” he said.

MacPherson said the campfire ban will remain in effect until further notice and applies to all areas of the coastal region except northern Vancouver Island, the mid-coast portion of the mainland and Haida Gwaii.

The ban also does not apply to an area know as the Fog Zone, a two-kilometre wide band that runs south from Nordstrom Creek to Owen Point near Port Renfrew.

MacPherson cautioned that the boundaries may change.

“We’re going to need some substantial rain to turn it around,” she said.

“It’s very possible that this prohibition could expand before it contracts again, so people should pay attention to our website at bcwildfire.ca.”

The areas affected by the campfire ban include all B.C. parks, Crown lands and private lands. It does not apply within the boundaries of municipalities that have their own wildfire bylaws and fire departments.

The Coastal Fire Centre cautions that municipalities may have their own bans in effect, so people should check with local officials.

The campfire ban “does not apply to CSA-rated or ULC-rated cooking stoves that use gas, propane or briquettes, or to a portable campfire apparatus that uses briquettes, liquid or gaseous fuel, so long as the height of the flame is less than 15 centimetres,” a government information bulletin stated.

People caught violating the ban could get a $345 ticket, an administrative penalty of $10,000 or a fine of up to $100,000 and a year in jail, if convicted in court.

“If the contravention causes or contributes to a wildfire, they could also wind up paying for part or all of the cost to put the forest fire out,” MacPherson said. “So that can be substantial.

“The other part is that they also get to live with the consequences of what they’ve done. We all love the forests; that’s why we love going out there. But if you make a mistake or you deliberately choose to violate a ban, then what you’re basically doing is putting at risk the area that you love to go to.”

lkines@timescolonist.com