Fire Bans and Other Restrictions

During the late spring, summer and early fall, the risk of wildfire on Denman Island is heightened and open air burning and certain forest activities can be limited or banned. The Fire Chief and Fire Warden make their decision to limit activities on the BC Government's "Fire Danger Rating" and observation of local conditions.

The Fire Danger Rating system (low, moderate, high and extreme) is maintained by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range and is used by fire managers to keep the public informed about the risk of wildfires; to allocate equipment and personnel resources; and, to indicate the degree of fire risk in any area, including the predicted rates of fire spread.

Information is collected from a network of automated weather stations (temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and precipitation) and is used to calculate the local forest fire danger rating which is automatically updated every hour as new weather information is collected. The ratings are:

Low	Low fire danger
Moderate	Carry out any forest activities with caution.
High	Fire hazard is serious. Extreme caution must be used in any forest activities. Burning permits and industrial activities may be restricted.
Extreme	Extremely high fire hazard. General forest activities may be restricted, including burning permits, industrial activities and campfires.

The public is kept informed about the forest fire danger level throughout the province using the Danger Class Report on the Ministry's web page, news bulletins, and road-side signs. Road signs on Denman Island are located at the Denman West ferry hill, near the Firehall and on Denman Road in the village.

During Complete Fire Bans all burning permits are suspended and no open air fires of any kind are permitted. This includes camp fires and beach fires. During periods of "High" or "Extreme" Danger Ratings, other activities are also affected and are listed below.

Chainsaw Use Under a "High" rating, a 'Morning Shift' is in effect. That is, chain sawing is permitted between 6:00 AM and 1:00 PM with a one-hour period following the completion of chain sawing to observe the site for the possibility of fire. Ample water and fire protection tools such as shovels and rakes should be on site and close at hand. When danger conditions are elevated to "Extreme", the 'Morning Shift' procedures can continue for only two (2) more days. If extreme conditions persist longer than two days, then chain sawing operations must cease completely until the danger rating is reduced to the "High" category.

Saw Mill Operations The conditions described above for chain sawing also apply to saw mill operations.

Propane BBQs There are no restrictions on BBQ usage except in Fillongley Provincial Park where propane-fuelled campfires and briquettes are prohibited during a campfire ban.

Inside Stoves or Fireplaces No restrictions apply to such properly installed appliances inside a structure; but, people should not burn garbage or plastics -the risk of chimney fires increases when burning these materials.

Lawn Mowers and Weed Whips While there are no restrictions on the use of using these tools, they can cause sparks that could ignite dry grass or brush. Use extreme care and have an ample supply of water handy.

Backhoe Operation Restrictions depend on the potential for risk. Land clearing operations are of particular concern. Operators should check with the Fire Warden, Don Luckett (335-3119) before using a backhoe in the bush during "High" or "Extreme" ratings.