BC Wildfire Map

[Glacier]

Another great map showing fire outlines... https://emergency-maps.lightship.works/ ... 5jandElZXg

[fz6adventure]

Seriously! Checked out the supposed forest fires on Vancouver Island and they are all 0.009 ha ..... that is a camp fire for goodness sake. My apartment is bigger than 0.009 ha.

Fear mongering at it's best for all the gullible people out there. They use these little hot spots to boost the gross number to install fear into the public and justify camp fire bans - I wonder what the answer will be when they tell us tourism is down.

[tsayta]

Seriously! Checked out the supposed forest fires on Vancouver Island and they are all 0.009 ha ..... that is a camp fire for goodness sake. My apartment is bigger than 0.009 ha.

Fear mongering at it's best for all the gullible people out there. They use these little hot spots to boost the gross number to install fear into the public and justify camp fire bans - I wonder what the answer will be when they tell us tourism is down.

Xlol. You are right! Thats 1500 square feet!

[fz6adventure]

Xlol. You are right! Thats 1500 square feet!

It even smaller than that! It is less than 1,000 square feet

[Glacier]

Seriously! Checked out the supposed forest fires on Vancouver Island and they are all 0.009 ha ..... that is a camp fire for goodness sake. My apartment is bigger than 0.009 ha.

Fear mongering at it's best for all the gullible people out there. They use these little hot spots to boost the gross number to install fear into the public and justify camp fire bans - I wonder what the answer will be when they tell us tourism is down.

No kidding. Milo has boyfriends with penises larger than that.

[Iamsomeone]

A fire map tells you how volatile the forest is. It's worth paying attention to.

Seriously! Checked out the supposed forest fires on Vancouver Island and they are all 0.009 ha ..... that is a camp fire for goodness sake. My apartment is bigger than 0.009 ha.

Fear mongering at it's best for all the gullible people out there. They use these little hot spots to boost the gross number to install fear into the public and justify camp fire bans - I wonder what the answer will be when they tell us tourism is down.

Good grief man, listen to what you're saying.

Do you really think the government puts in fire bans just to *bleep* you off?

Have you even looked at the 'fires of note' map? Have you followed how they melded into one huge fire in certain areas? How wind conditions can change everything within minutes - yes minutes?

How fires blocked one exit on a highway so people were evacuated while they still had a way out?

There is a hell of a lot more to it than you missing your campfire. Be thankful it hasn't happened to you.

YET.

[tsayta]

Looks like in the north part ok Kamloops fire centre the risk is easing. Cooler temperatures, some rain has reduced risk to moderate

[Iamsomeone]

I just wanted to point out that sometimes 'fire ban' decisions are made for the benefit of everyone in the province. We only have so many fire fighting resources, especially aircraft.

If a fire breaks out on the Island, because it's a populated area, resources will be sent to it. Sometimes fire bans are put in place to prevent our resources being stretched too thin.

Case in point - the Okanagan Centre fire. That must have pulled resources from somewhere. It's not like this year, they have fire fighting planes on standby.

We are all in this together.

[fz6adventure]

A fire map tells you how volatile the forest is. It's worth paying attention to.

Good grief man, listen to what you're saying.

Do you really think the government puts in fire bans just to *bleep* you off?

Have you even looked at the 'fires of note' map? Have you followed how they melded into one huge fire in certain areas? How wind conditions can change everything within minutes - yes minutes?

How fires blocked one exit on a highway so people were evacuated while they still had a way out?

There is a hell of a lot more to it than you missing your campfire. Be thankful it hasn't happened to you.

YET.

Don't be a lemming!

My post had two purposes. The first was how the government plays with the statistics to for ulterior purposes. The second was the gross manner upon which fire bans are placed thereby impacting tourism (local and non-local) use of our natural resources which includes forest use.

There is no doubt that there are certain areas of the province that are drier than others and for those areas that are in an extreme risk category there should be comprehensive bans in place that would include restrictions such as forest use during particular times of the days as well as camp fires. I'm sure you realize that a spark thrown from two rocks crushed together off a gravel road can start a fire as easily as that from a poorly managed camp fire - both qualify under the rating system as "suspected human caused". Maybe rather than wait for a fire to start along a roadside, a better use of resources would be to manage the fuel adjacent to the roadsides during low hazard periods.

If one looks at the most recent fire danger map of the Coastal Fire Centre (http://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/safet ... ire-danger) as an example, only the southern region is a high or extreme rating yet camp fires are banned everywhere thus impacting the enjoyment of experiencing nature. There is absolutely no reason that campfires should be prohibited from managed campgrounds - just as how things are managed in Washington, Oregon & Idaho. I can tell you that I was just in Northern Washington camping and camp fires were permitted in designated campgrounds - I went there rather than camp locally for that very reason and I'm certain others are making their vacation plans accordingly.

One last thing, forest fires are a natural occurrence of the eco-system. They have been occuring for millions of years - no matter what we think, we will never ever be able to eliminate them - nor should we.

[Iamsomeone]

Don't be a lemming!

My post had two purposes. The first was how the government plays with the statistics to for ulterior purposes. The second was the gross manner upon which fire bans are placed thereby impacting tourism (local and non-local) use of our natural resources which includes forest use.

There is no doubt that there are certain areas of the province that are drier than others and for those areas that are in an extreme risk category there should be comprehensive bans in place that would include restrictions such as forest use during particular times of the days as well as camp fires. I'm sure you realize that a spark thrown from two rocks crushed together off a gravel road can start a fire as easily as that from a poorly managed camp fire - both qualify under the rating system as "suspected human caused". Maybe rather than wait for a fire to start along a roadside, a better use of resources would be to manage the fuel adjacent to the roadsides during low hazard periods.

If one looks at the most recent fire danger map of the Coastal Fire Centre (http://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/safet ... ire-danger) as an example, only the southern region is a high or extreme rating yet camp fires are banned everywhere thus impacting the enjoyment of experiencing nature. There is absolutely no reason that campfires should be prohibited from managed campgrounds - just as how things are managed in Washington, Oregon & Idaho. I can tell you that I was just in Northern Washington camping and camp fires were permitted in designated campgrounds - I went there rather than camp locally for that very reason and I'm certain others are making their vacation plans accordingly.

One last thing, forest fires are a natural occurrence of the eco-system. They have been occuring for millions of years - no matter what we think, we will never ever be able to eliminate them - nor should we.

I understand what you're saying and agree with you completely. If I was sitting in a Provincial Park on North Vancouver Island, I might wonder why I couldn't have a campfire. I can surely enjoy camping without a fire but it sure makes it nicer.

So we need to understand why the government put the fire ban in place for the whole Province. I don't know all the reasons taken into consideration before a blanket ban but I have an idea.

Right now, the interior of BC is burning. They are getting a handle on it but in order to do that, most of our air resources are being directed into the Interior of BC. I imagine with the resources left on Vancouver Island, they have the ability to put out all the small fires you mentioned and assist at the beginning should a major fire break out. Should a major fire break out though, it may take a couple hours for substantial air support to arrive at best.

It may not be that the fire ban is on in Northern Vancouver Island because of imminent fire danger - but it may be in place because the Province is worried their equipment isn't readily available should a major fire break out. It's prudent, I think, for the government to call for a total ban when the Province is under a state of emergency, taking everything including the availability of resources available into consideration.

Add to that, Vancouver Island has many places where there is only one major road out. I'm sure it's a consideration in their decision.

As regards to your comment on fires starting from 2 rocks sparking or a campfire spark, I agree with calling them both human caused. It explains the reason some roads are shut down when extreme conditions exist. Knox Mountain is shut down for that very reason. I don't think it's wrong to label those fires human caused. They ARE human caused. Two rocks just don't jump up and spark for no reason.

Anyhow, just my thoughts.

[Glacier]

The fire ban is not province-wide, FYI. Camp fires are allowed where fire danger rating is low.

[fz6adventure]

The fire ban is not province-wide, FYI. Camp fires are allowed where fire danger rating is low.

That is not true. In the Coastal Fire Centre only the Haida Gwaii and the Fog Zone are exempt from the camp fire ban despite the fact there are other areas in the Coastal Fire Centre where the rating is low.

[Iamsomeone]

I think Glacier was referring to my statement that the province put a blanket ban in place covering the entire province. Technically, I was incorrect.

Each fire zone in BC puts their own bans in place. Most zones called for the ban on July 7, while the Northwest and Prince George fires zones called for the ban three days later on July 10. Interestingly, the Coastal fire zone which includes Vancouver Island, were the very first to call for a ban on July 6.

So while the entire province is now on a campfire ban, it was each individual zone that called it and not the province as a whole.

I believe you are correct though fz6adventure. As far as I know, the only place in BC as of this date where you can legally have a campfire is Haida Gwaii and the Fog Zone near Port Hardy. Those two areas have been exempted from the ban.

[Glacier]

I think Glacier was referring to my statement that the province put a blanket ban in place covering the entire province. Technically, I was incorrect.

Each fire zone in BC puts their own bans in place. Most zones called for the ban on July 7, while the Northwest and Prince George fires zones called for the ban three days later on July 10. Interestingly, the Coastal fire zone which includes Vancouver Island, were the very first to call for a ban on July 6.

That's simply not true. The Cariboo had a fire ban way back in June for all areas west of the Fraser River.

The coast has the driest summers in Canada, so yes, it's reasonable to have early fire bans there given the extreme conditions. Victoria and Nanaimo, for example, are extreme while Kamloops and Kelowna are only high.

[Iamsomeone]

I'm not suggesting that the Cariboo or any other area didn't have some fire bans prior to July. I think it was apparent to most that we were having a conversation about the province wide campfire ban we are currently under and not fire bans in general. Somehow you must have missed that part.

From the forestry web page:

Effective at noon on Friday, July 7, 2017, campfires will be prohibited throughout the Cariboo Fire Centre's jurisdiction to help prevent human-caused wildfires and protect public safety.

You're being a bit bothersome right now. Sheesh.