BEGINNING OF THE END?
With a new ban in effect and more hot weather on the horizon, B.C. campers may one day face the prospect of permanently snuffing out their fires
B.C. campers were able to enjoy a record number of days without a campfire ban before the province imposed one on Wednesday, to the delight of marshmallow roasters everywhere.
But the trend has been toward longer and longer bans each year, and at least one scientist warns that the day may come when summer campfires are no longer allowed.
On Wednesday, Environment Canada posted a special weather statement, saying temperatures across the South Coast of B.C. will climb into the low 30s over the next few days as a large ridge of high pressure builds along the coast.
The agency says the hottest day will be Thursday as the ridge reaches its peak strength with afternoon highs above 32 C in many inland locations. The exception will be along the water where it will be closer to 25 C.
Environment Canada expects the higher-than-normal temperatures to last into the middle of next week.
Data from the B.C. Forests Ministry obtained by Postmedia News shows that anyone who went camping in August over the past six years in southern B.C. would have been doing so under a campfire ban.
Generally, bans in provincial parks have been getting longer, covering more of the province and starting earlier in the season since 2011.
In 2015, the Fraser fire zone, which includes Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley, spent most of the summer — 72 days — under a campfire ban, up from 35 in 2010.
This year marks a sharp reversal of that trend. In fact, this summer’s rainy, cool weather is consistent with an El Niño cycle that brought hot, dry summers to B.C. the two previous years, said John Innes, dean of the University of B.C.’s faculty of forestry.
Because the El Niño periods are persisting longer and becoming less predictable, a phenomenon that may be linked to climate change, the province can expect warmer, dryer summers in the years to come, Innes said. That could mean the end of summer campfires, Innes said, but it doesn’t have to.
“I would envisage that the campfire bans will get longer and longer and be imposed earlier and earlier in the seasons as we move forward in time. Ultimately it may get to the stage where they just have to say no more campfires. But I think they can avoid that with some good planning and good management.”
Between 2010 and 2015, 636 of the 9,173 wildfires in B.C. — seven per cent — were caused by campfires, said Greig Bethel, a spokesman with the B.C. Ministry of Forest, Lands and Natural Resource Operations.
“Sometimes it is necessary to implement campfire prohibitions to reduce the risk of human-caused wildfires,” Bethel said in a statement.
“These bans are dependent on weather conditions, fire activity and whether or not we are encountering widespread non-compliance. These bans will stay in effect until the potential for further wildfire starts has significantly decreased. The decision on when or where to put a campfire ban in place is made by the regional fire centres.”
Careless behaviour around campfires can be costly.
“Anyone who leaves a campfire unattended for any length of time may be fined up to $1,150, while anyone whose campfire causes a wildfire may also be subject to a penalty of $100,000 and one year in jail along with any costs associated with fighting the fire and damages,” Bethel said.
Innes said seasonal campfire bans, and even a potential blanket prohibition on summer campfires in the years ahead, could be avoided if B.C. Parks stepped up its monitoring of provincial campgrounds.
“The problem is that the level of supervision and enforcement has been declining. You still have to pay the money, but you don’t get the services any more. So it’s much easier for someone, either deliberately or by mistake, to leave a campfire burning.”