B.C. 'fog zone' no longer exempt from burn bans during wildfire season

The so-called "fog zone" along the outer coast of Vancouver Island will no longer be exempt when the B.C. Wildfire Service implements campfire bans and other open burn prohibitions.

The area, a two kilometre-wide strip of land stretching from Port Renfrew to Port Hardy, had sometimes been excluded from open burn bans on the rest of the island, according to a news release from the wildfire service.

The reasoning was that fog along the coast created a lower risk of a fire spreading, and local communities and parks didn't have bylaws governing open burning.

The wildfire service reviewed the fog zone exemption after the record-breaking 2018 wildfire season and concluded it was no longer relevant, according to the news release.

Bamfield, Ucluelet and Tofino all have open burning bylaws now, and Pacific Rim National Park has a campfire permit system.