Category 1 campfire prohibition coming into effect for the South East Fire Centre

The South East Fire Centre will enact a Category 1 campfire prohibition at noon on Friday, July 12, until October 28.

Under a Category 1 campfire prohibition, the following open fires will be prohibited throughout the region:

• Category 1 campfires as defined in the Wildfire Regulation;
• Category 2 open fires as defined in the Wildfire Regulation; and,
• Category 3 open fires as defined in the Wildfire Regulation.

Additionally, the following activities and equipment are also restricted:

• Fireworks;
• Sky lanterns;
• Burn barrels or burn cages of any size or description;
• Binary exploding targets;
• Air curtain burners;
• Tiki and similar kinds of torches; and,
• Chimineas.

This prohibition does not include the use of outdoor stoves. As per the Wildfire Regulation, an outdoor stove is classified as a CSA or ULC-rated device used outdoors for cooking, heat or ambiance that burns charcoal briquettes, liquid fuel, or gaseous fuel, and has a flame height that is less than 15 centimetres tall.

These prohibitions apply to all public and private land within the South East Fire Centre jurisdiction, unless specified otherwise in an enactment (e.g., in a local government bylaw).

Anyone found in contravention of an open fire prohibition may be issued a ticket for $1,150, required to pay an administrative penalty of $10,000 or, if convicted in court, fined up to $100,000 and/or sentenced to one year in jail.

If the contravention causes or contributes to a wildfire, the person responsible may be ordered to pay all firefighting and associated costs. 

A map of the affected area is available here. 

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