An exemption that allows people in the so-called “fog zone” of coastal Vancouver Island to have open fires when they are banned elsewhere on the Island is being discontinued.
In the past, the Coastal Fire Centre has sometimes excluded a two-kilometre strip of land along the extreme outer coast of Vancouver Island from Port Renfrew to Port Hardy — commonly called the fog zone — during open-fire bans elsewhere on the Island.
The fog-zone exemption was popular with summer campers, who were often able to have open-pit fires in areas such as Tofino during summer open-fire bans.
The fog-zone exemption was granted based on the lower risk of a wildfire spreading due to the fog. The B.C. Wildfire Service said there was also a general lack of community bylaws and campfire procedures in provincial and federal parks within the area.
But many of the reasons why the fog-zone exemption was initially established are no longer relevant, the service said in a statement.
The Wildfire Act and the Wildfire Regulation govern open burning and prohibit activities on Crown land not covered by local government bylaws, including provincial parks.
National parks have their own regulations.
Now, however, the communities of Bamfield, Ucluelet and Tofino all have open-burning bylaws and Pacific Rim National Park has an effective permit system in place governing campfires, according to the B.C. Wildfire Service.
The exemption was reviewed after last year’s fire season in collaboration with First Nations, national and provincial park staff, and local governments in the area.
Information on wildfire activity, burning restrictions, road closures and air quality advisories is available at bcwildfire.ca.
