Open burning ban: The campfire ban will be rescinded Friday, May 15, at noon, in alignment with the BC Wildfire Service. Category 1 recreational fires will be permitted, meaning campfires smaller than 0.5 metres high by 0.5 metres wide. Category 2 and 3 open fires remain prohibited.
In addition to Category 2 and 3 open fires, 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 kind of torches
Chimineas
This ban does not include the use of outdoor stoves. These must be CSA-rated or ULC-rated devices used outdoors for cooking, heat or ambiance that burn charcoal briquettes, liquid fuel or gaseous fuel, and have a flame height 15 cm tall or less.
To report a wildfire, call 1-800-663-5555 toll-free, *5555 on a cell phone or use the BC Wildfire Service app.
Contact the Central Saanich Fire Department if you have questions or concerns about burning regulations. To make an appointment for a Fire Department Officer to conduct a complimentary safety inspection of your outdoor burning appliance, call 250-544-4238 or send an email to fdadmin@csaanich.ca.
Thank you for your cooperation in reducing wildfire risk and improving air quality to create a healthier community for residents and protect our natural environment.
Important Burning Information
Below are the general requirements for all other Open Burning as per the revised Open Burning Regulation Bylaw 2058
Open fires will be limited to the winter burning season October 16 - May 15
Open fires require a permit from the fire department; the exception being Recreational Fires
Every reasonable alternative for reducing, reusing, or recycling the vegetative debris is to be used in order to minimize the amount of vegetative debris to be open burned;
Every reasonable effort shall be made to minimize any soil content that may be mixed in the with the vegetative debris
Burn piles are to be constructed in a way that maximizes airflow through the vegetative debris in the pile
Open Burning shall not start earlier than 1 hour after sunrise; and end by 4pm or 2 hours before sunset whichever later
The venting forecast for Domestic Yard Waste Fires and Agricultural Purpose Fires must be "Good" or "Fair" for the afternoon (4pm) prediction for Southern Vancouver Island on the day of the burn;
To improve air quality in Central Saanich the regulations for Open Burning have been updated.
Once you have a permit, please check the Provincial Ventilation Index before burning. You are only able to burn when it is forecast to be "good" or "fair" (as of 4 pm) on the day you want to burn--even if you're burning that morning.
On days when the index is poor, smoke does not disperse well into the atmosphere causing poor air quality.
Open burning is permitted on any day of the week when the Venting Index forecast is "Good" or "Fair." Permits can be picked up at Fire Station #1 (1512 Keating Cross Road).
Small backyard recreational fires - what you need to know:
Recreational fires are permitted regardless of the Venting Index unless a fire ban is in place. A recreational fire is a maximum size of 1.5 feet (0.5 meters) high by 1.5 feet wide using clean, proper firewood for recreation purposes, which includes cooking or heating.
Recreational fires must be situated at least 3 meters away from any building, structure, fence, property line, trees, bushes or other combustible materials.
Definitions
Domestic Yard Waste Fires maximum pile size is one meter high by one meter wide; with branches or other pieces of vegetative debris, with or without leaves, that are no greater than 3 cm (1") in diameter. Domestic Yard Waste piles must be situated at least 7.5 meters (25ft) away from any building, structure, fence, property line, trees, bushes or other combustible materials.
Agricultural Purpose Fires are open fires that take place on lands located within the Agricultural Land Reserve, or lands that are deemed to be Farm status by BC Assessment. The open burning is conducted using one to two piles, with each pile being a maximum size of two meters high by three meters wide where branches or other pieces of vegetative debris, with or without leaves, are no greater than 10 cm (4") in diameter. Agricultural Purpose fires must be situated at least 15 meters (50ft) away from any building, structure, fence, property line, trees, bushes or other combustible materials.Please check back to this page as there will be an agricultural burning fact sheet coming from the Province in early October.
Category 3 Fires (As defined by the Wildfire Act) are open fires with three or more piles with each pile being a maximum size of two meters high by three meters wide, or a single pile that is larger than two meters high by three meters wide, or any open fire where the burning of branches or other pieces of vegetative debris with or without leaves that are greater than 10 cm (4"), Permit holders must follow the Open Burning Smoke Control Regulations that was revised on September 15, 2019. Category 3 fires are regulated by the province with no exemptions.
