Campers adjust campfire plans to provincial fire bans

No campfire means a different approach to summer camping

EDMONTON — Jade Najam was getting excited about camping during the May long weekend, sitting around the campfire late into the night with his family and sipping hot chocolate.

“Camping is all about the campfire. Just surfing the fire and sitting around the fire,” said Najam. “Sitting around the campfire is the most important part of our evening.”

But Alberta’s fire ban, put in place in early May, still hadn’t been lifted. Najam called off the plans to go camping in the wilderness, deciding it was better to stay home instead.

Fire bans began rolling in after hot, dry weather took over much of Canada early in the season – in Alberta, Saskatchewan and B.C., now expanding to the Maritimes.

While Saskatchewan and Alberta have lifted the bans in some regions, people in the Prairies have been monitoring the wildfire season closely.

Companies that supply camping enthusiasts have been seeing trends change. Najam, who is the managing director of Smart Firewood Products, based in Leduc, Alta., says demand usually picks up around mid-April and continues until mid-October.

“This May, I’m not even at five per cent of what I did last year in sales,” he added.

One outdoor outfitter, meanwhile, is seeing a jump in sales for propane gas outdoor firepits.

“People have to look at things a bit differently when planning their camping trip due to fire bans,” said Mike Eerkes, general manager at a Mountain Equipment Company store in Edmonton. He said campers are opting for alternatives that don’t get the classic smoky-wood campfire but still provide a warm glow.

The biggest advantage to propane fire is that “you can have it,” he said. “They’re fully compliant with the fire bans.”

Overall, Eerkes said he hasn’t seen a remarkable shift in the sales of camping gear overall.

A private campground about 100 kilometres southwest of Halifax has been getting cancellations since the fire ban and camping bans in wooded areas of Nova Scotia earlier this week.

“When fire bans are in place, it’s the private campground’s choice to follow the fire ban to not,” said Minseo Kim, manager of the Little Lake Family Campground in Lunenburg, N.S. “But for this fire ban, private campgrounds have to listen as well.

Kim said the cancellations will not have a huge effect in the coming weeks, partly because the peak season begins in July and the campground also has an open space outside of the wooded area.

He is hoping the fire ban lifts soon for overnight campers.

Nova Scotia imposed the fire ban on Monday, with Prince Edward Island following Tuesday.