Effective Friday, May 15, 2026 at 12:00 p.m. (noon), the current ban on Category 1 open fires (campfires) will be rescinded in North Cowichan.
The following activities and equipment are still currently prohibited as of 12:00 p.m. (noon) Thursday, May 7, 2026, until October 31, 2026 or until the ban is rescinded. This ban includes all burning done or a fire set in accordance with federal or provincial regulations.
This ban includes the following:
- Category 2 open fires (backyard burning)
- Category 3 open fires (land clearing)
- Fireworks & firecrackers
- Binary exploding targets (E.G. for rifle target practice)
- Sky Lanterns
- Wood fired hot tubs, wood fired pizza ovens and other wood fired devices unless vented through a structure that has a flue and is incorporated in a building
- Burning barrels or burning cages of any size or description
- Controlled air incinerators
- Air curtain burners
- Carbonizers
- Burning woody debris in outdoor stoves
- Tiki torches or similar torches
- Chimineas
This prohibition does not apply to CSA-rated or ULC-rated cooking stoves that use gas, propane or briquettes, or to a portable campfire apparatus that uses briquettes, liquid or gaseous fuel, so long as the height of the flame is less than 15 centimetres.
Visit the Coastal Fire Centre web page for more information and details of fire bans in other areas.
For more information, contact:
North Cowichan Fire Services
250-746-3107