Campfire ban starts Thursday for B.C. South Coast and Vancouver Island

Parched conditions on British Columbia's West Coast have prompted a campfire ban.

The BC Wildfire Service says all open fires, including campfires, will be banned across the Coastal Fire Centre includingthe Lower Mainland, Vancouver Island, the Sunshine Coastand Sea to Sky regions starting on Thursday, although gas, propane or briquette cooking stoves are still permitted.

The ban applies to Crown land and private land not covered by local open burning bylaws put in place by local municipalities and regional districts. This includes municipal and privately owned campgrounds not covered by municipal bylaws, forestry recreation sites and provincial and federal parks.

BC Parks may also designate certain BC Parks campsites as 'no campfire' location.

• Get updates on campfire bans

Only Haida Gwaii and the fog zone, a thin strip along the western edge of Vancouver Island, are exempt from the ban.

The service says in a news release that a stretch of hot weather, with no rain in the forecast, has forced the ban, which covers the entire south and central coasts and extends east to Manning Provincial Park and north to Tweedsmuir Provincial Park.

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The prohibition will remain in effect until Oct. 21, 2017 or until further notice.

Violators face fines ranging from $1,150 to $10,000 and a year in jail, and if a campfire or other burning contributes to a wildfire, the person responsible may be ordered to pay all firefighting and associated costs.

A campfire ban is already in place for parts of the Cariboo fire region.