Campfires will be allowed throughout the August long weekend but campers are reminded to still be cautious. (The Canadian Press)

By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

LIGHT IT UP

Mid-island area evades campfire ban for August long weekend

Aug 2, 2019 | 7:49 AM

NANAIMO — A campfire ban won’t be in place throughout Vancouver Island and areas kept under close watch by the Coastal Fire Centre.

CFC staff said “the numbers just aren’t there” to implement a ban in time for the August long weekend.

Normal amounts of rain fell throughout the region in July, which is typically the hottest and dryest month of the year.

CFC staff said though a campfire ban won’t be implemented in coming days, anyone out in the wilderness still needs to be careful and cautious.

Campfires can’t be more than 0.5 metres in height and width.

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Despite the rain, the Nanaimo-area remained one of the dryest on Vancouver Island due to drought conditions earlier in the year.

The forest floor beneath the surface can still be quite dry despite the rains.

By July, roughly 100 fires had burned or were currently burning throughout the CFC region was on par with the 10-year average.

The last time a campfire ban was not implemented in the CFC was in 2012.

Category two open fires are banned on the south coast, which specifically means burning materials smaller than two metres high and three metres wide.

As of Friday, Aug. 2 at noon, the fire danger rating on Vancouver Island ranged from very low in the northern half to moderate throughout the mid-island and high along the southeast coast.

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