Declaring a campfire ban isn’t as easy as announcing it to the public.
With forest fires scorching their way through much of British Columbia, many people took to the Internet in the days after the Elaho wildfire started June 14 to ask why a ban wasn’t put in place immediately.
But a ban is a complex legal maneuver.
“A campfire prohibition is not just a piece of paper they sign off on or an announcement they make – it is actually a legal document,” said Marg Drysdale, fire information assistant with the Coastal Fire Centre.
Senior forest protection officers look at the science of forest fires and the weather and also rely on their experience, Drysdale said.
“They also have to talk to a whole other group of people in government from compliance and enforcement people to BC Parks; they consult with numerous agencies before they go ahead and put it in so that everything is lined up.”
When making the decision to put a kibosh on the s’mores around the campfire, officials know the ban impacts individuals and business.
“We know that there is a large tourism industry in B.C., we know that in some cases it affects where people are going to go and where they are going to spend their hard-earned dollars.”
BC Parks has to be given a chance to get signage up and patrolling has to be arranged before a ban is put in place, Drysdale added.
“All of those things take a day or two,” she said.
As to when and if the current coastal fire ban could be lifted, Drysdale said the policy is to play it safe and not lift it until it is likely to remain off for the rest of the season.
She said given the hot, dry weather and the forecast for more of the same, the ban isn’t likely to be lifted anytime soon.
“I know there’s people out there who think, ‘Well, I’ve done it all my life. I have gone ahead and had my campfires and I’ve never had a problem,’ but this year is different and we really need people to realize that.”
Since April 1 this year, 866 wildfires have burned more than 222,000 hectares of B.C. There are currently more than 180 active fires, according to the Provincial Information Office.
For more information on active forest fires in B.C., go to bcwildfire.ca.
