Due to the arsonists who lit the fires who have already been arrested.
The website says “all campfires”, but still trying to figure out if that includes propane fire pits.
It took some digging, but the ban is on Category 1 Campfires, which I’m assuming means all the other categories are verboten as well:
A campfire is defined as:
- Any fire no larger than 0.5 metres high by 0.5 metres wide (a fire larger than this is considered a Category 2 fire).
- Used by any person for recreational purposes or by a First Nation for a ceremonial purpose.
The categories don’t seem to care about the fuel you’re using or whether it’s in a pit or not; so, essentially all burning is banned for now (if I understand correctly, the announcement isn’t on a BC site yet from what I can find).
EDIT: found a map & table of the bans: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/safety/wildfire-status/prevention/fire-bans-and-restrictions
EDIT2: As linked below:
The use of outdoor stoves is not prohibited. As per the Wildfire Regulation, an outdoor stove is a CSA-rated 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.
Looks like propane firepits are not banned based on the following bulletin: https://blog.gov.bc.ca/bcwildfire/campfire-prohibition-coming-to-southeast/