Dry conditions have put a kibosh on campfires and recently led to two separate cigarette-caused fires in Tofino.
The Coastal Fire Centre announced an Island-wide campfire ban on Aug. 4.
Tofino fire chief and manager of protective services Brent Baker told the Westerly B次元官网网址 on Friday that the ban includes the districtB次元官网网址檚 mandated wood burning beach fire appliances, though propane pits are permitted.
B次元官网网址淣o burning of wood of any sort right now,B次元官网网址� Baker said. B次元官网网址淭here are limited resources and any type of fire can get out of hand fairly easily. Our goal as a community is to reduce the possibilities of any negative effects of fires. ItB次元官网网址檚 a numbers game, reduce the chances and reduce the strain on resources. We donB次元官网网址檛 want to draw resources away from whatB次元官网网址檚 going on in the interior and other parts of the Island.B次元官网网址�
He noted the ban was announced after a wet day on the West Coast, creating some local frustration about its validity, but added that dry conditions led to two fires caused by irresponsibly discarded cigarette butts in Tofino the week prior.
B次元官网网址淭he challenging thing for people is when we get all the fog in the morning and the grass feels wet and we had rain 24 hours prior to the fire ban starting, thatB次元官网网址檚 a hard thing for people to grasp that there is a concern,B次元官网网址� he said.
B次元官网网址淗owever last week the Fire Department did respond to two fires in garden beds that were started from careless disposal of cigarettes. Those types of fires can happen really easily and they will often smoulder for hours before anyone notices them and, by the time somebody notices, theyB次元官网网址檝e become a much bigger issue than they initially were.B次元官网网址�
He noted one of the fires occurred outside a local restaurant directly below one of .
B次元官网网址淭he means for somebody to put it out properly was right there and they threw it in the garden instead,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淭hereB次元官网网址檚 definitely consequences that people donB次元官网网址檛 think of at all.B次元官网网址�
Aside from the cigarette butt situations, Baker said heB次元官网网址檚 been heartened to see locals and visitors respecting local laws around fires at local beaches.
Baker said heB次元官网网址檚 been heartened to see locals and visitors respecting local laws around beach fires.
B次元官网网址淲e have an increased level of compliance over previous years. WeB次元官网网址檝e been very happy with how things have been progressing and the participation of both visitors and residents has been greatly appreciated,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淲e really appreciate the people who are complying with the campfire and beach fire rules and sharing the information with friends or other people that they see. We just need to get the message out there and the more people who talk about it, the better off we all are so thank you very much to those who are participating and sharing information.B次元官网网址�
andrew.bailey@westerlynews.ca
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