Effective at noon May 18, Category 2 open fires and fireworks will be prohibited across Courtenay Fire Protection District, Merville Fire Protection District, and areas of the Black Creek Fire Protection District protected by the Courtenay Fire Department to help prevent human-caused wildfires. The ban will be in place until Sept. 15, or until the public is otherwise notified.

Specifically this ban applies to:

• the burning of any material, piled or unpiled, smaller than two metres in height and three metres in width, including burning barrels

• the use of fireworks and burn barrels of any size of description

• stubble or grass fires over an area less than 2,000 square metres

Category 3 open burning used for resource management reasons in the Courtenay Fire Protection District, Merville Fire Protection District, and areas of the Black Creek Fire Protection District protected by the Courtenay Fire Department is still allowed. However, a person conducting an open burn, may only conduct one at a time and must first obtain a burn permit from the Courtenay Fire Department.

The ban does not prohibit campfires in the Merville Fire Protection District or supervised campgrounds provided the campfires are a half metre high by a half metre wide or smaller, or apply to cooking stoves that use gas, propane, or briquettes. People lighting a campfire must maintain a fireguard by removing flammable debris from the campfire area, and they must have a hand tool or at least eight litres of water available nearby to properly extinguish the fire.

For any questions or further information please contact the Courtenay Fire Hall,

650 Cumberland Road - Tel: (250) 334-2513 8 am to 4:30 pm Monday to Friday excluding holidays.

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