Category: Uncategorized
Campfire Fire Ban still effect in Otter Point until Tuesday, October 31st, 2023, or until provincial order is rescinded.
Coastal Fire Centre enacts campfire prohibition
PARKSVILLE – Effective at noon Pacific Daylight Time on Friday, July 7, 2023, campfires will be prohibited throughout the Coastal Fire Centre, except the Haida Gwaii Forest District. This prohibition is being enacted to help prevent human caused wildfires and protect public safety.
These prohibitions apply to all public and private land within the Coastal Fire Centre jurisdiction, unless specified otherwise in an enactment (e.g., in a local government bylaw). Always check with local government authorities to see if any other burning restrictions are in effect.
This prohibition will be in place until Tuesday, October 31, 2023, or until the order is rescinded.
A map of the affected area is provided below and available online:
Open Burning Prohibition in Otter Point
Open Burning will be prohibited in Otter Point effective at 12:00pm Thursday, May 18th, 2023.
All Otter Point Open Burning Permits will not be valid
after Thursday at 12:00pm.
Also prohibited are the activities listed below (Wildfire Act, Section 12):
- Fireworks;
- Sky lanterns;
- Binary exploding targets;
- Burn barrels or burn cages of any size or description; and,
- Air curtain burners.
This Prohibition does not include Campfires.
Campfires that are a half-metre high by a half-metre wide or smaller, or to cooking stoves that use gas, propane, or briquettes.
see below the official news release from BC Wildfire:
Open fire prohibition scheduled for Coastal Fire Centre
PARKSVILLE – Effective at noon Pacific Daylight Time on Thursday, May 18, 2023, most open burning activities will be prohibited throughout the Coastal Fire Centre’s jurisdiction. This prohibition is being enacted to help reduce wildfire risk and protect public safety.
Category 2 and Category 3 open fires will be prohibited throughout the Coastal Fire Centre’s jurisdiction, with the exception of Haida Gwaii. This prohibition will be in place until October 31, 2023, or until the order is rescinded.
A map of the affected area is available here.
This prohibition applies to all public and private land, unless specified otherwise (e.g., in a local government bylaw). People are asked to check with local government authorities for any other restrictions before lighting any fire.
Specifically, this prohibition refers to the following activities:
“category 2 open fire” which means an open fire, other than a category 1 campfire, that
- burns material in one pile not exceeding 2 m in height and 3 m in width,
- burns material concurrently in 2 piles each not exceeding 2 m in height and 3 m in width, or
- burns stubble or grass over an area that does not exceed 0.2 ha.
“category 3 open fire” which means an open fire that burns
- material concurrently in 3 or more piles each not exceeding 2 m in height and 3 m in width,
- material in one or more piles each exceeding 2 m in height or 3 m in width,
- one or more windrows, each not exceeding 200 m in length or 15 m in width,
- stubble or grass over an area exceeding 0.2 ha.
Also prohibited are the activities listed below (Wildfire Act, Section 12):
- Fireworks;
- Sky lanterns;
- Binary exploding targets;
- Burn barrels or burn cages of any size or description; and,
- Air curtain burners.
This prohibition does not apply to Category 1 – Campfires that are a half-metre high by a half-metre wide or smaller, or to cooking stoves that use gas, propane, or briquettes.
Anyone lighting a campfire must maintain a fireguard by removing flammable debris from around the campfire area and have a hand tool or at least eight litres of water available nearby to properly extinguish the fire.
The Coastal Fire Centre covers all the area west of the height of land on the Coast Mountain Range from the U.S.-Canada border at Manning Park, including Tweedsmuir South Provincial Park in the north, the Sunshine Coast, the Lower Mainland, Vancouver Island, the Gulf Islands and Haida Gwaii.
Anyone found in contravention of an open fire prohibition may be issued a violation ticket for $1,150, required to pay an administrative penalty of up to $10,000 or, if convicted in court, fined up to $100,000 and/or sentenced to one year in jail. If the contravention causes or contributes to a wildfire, the person responsible may be ordered to pay all firefighting and associated costs.
To report a wildfire, unattended campfire, or open fire violation, call 1 800 663-5555 toll-free or *5555 on a cell phone. For the latest information on current wildfire activity, burning restrictions, road closures and air quality advisories, go to: http://www.bcwildfire.ca
Contact:
Fire Information Officer
Coastal Fire Centre
BC Wildfire Service
250 951-4209
Juan de Fuca On Fire – Webinar and Community Roundtable
On May 24th at 2-3:30pm, CRD is holding a wildfire community roundtable with special guests:
- Conor Corbett (Diamond Head Consulting) on the Juan de Fuca Community Wildfire Resiliency Plan.
- Rob Syverson (FireSmart Coordinator) on protecting homes during a wildfire.
- Jane O’Higgins-Wilson (Emergency Services Coordinator) on evacuations.
- Jeri Grant (Emergency Program Coordinator) on personal preparedness.
This is an opportunity for residents to ask questions and get answers on wildfire risk in Juan de Fuca. The event will be recorded for those who cannot attend. Sign up here.
A Special Thank You To Our Firefighters !
Welcome Otter Point Fire Department Recruit Class of 2023
This Month we welcomed 5 additional recruit firefighters to our existing 2 recruits. This will be one of the bigger recruit classes we’ve had in a very long time.
Everyone is excited to get started with their training. This month they’ve already completed Department orientation and safety and also PPE and SCBA training.
Welcome, Dave, Brittany, Sam, Marjanna, and Sierra. They will be joining Tyler and Krista who joined earlier in the year.
All Open Burning In Otter Point Now Requires A Permit
** PLEASE NOTE** New changes to the Open Burning bylaw are now in effect. For more information, please call the Firehall at 250-642-6211 or email chief@otterpointfire.bc.ca
Click the link below for more information on the updated
open burning regulations:
https://otterpointfire.bc.ca/burning-regulations/
Recruiting Volunteer Firefighters
We are looking for hard working and dedicated
people to join our team!
Become an Otter Point Volunteer Firefighter!
We’ll train you to NFPA 1001 level 2 Fire Fighter standard.
Provide fire apparatus driving and pump operator training to the NFPA 1002 Standard, including air brake endorsement certification
Fire Officer training and various specialty courses.
We also have an industry-leading Live Fire Training Facility that is regularly used by area fire departments and hosts certified JIBC live fire training courses.
Apply today, by filling out an application at http://www.otterpointfire.bc.ca/recruitment
or stop by the Fire Hall Mon-Fri 8:30 am – 5:00 pm to pick up an application.