Big land-clearing burns in Elphinstone led to some formal – and lots of informal – complaints in the Gibsons area late last week.
Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) and Town of Gibsons officials say the burning, on lots near King Road and Veterans Way, was carried out under Category A permits issued by the Gibsons and District Volunteer Fire Department.
Those permits require anyone conducting a burn to follow the Provincial Open Burning Smoke Control Regulations, and SCRD Bylaw 631.
Under both sets of rules, burns are only allowed if the so-called ventilation index for Central Vancouver Island is at least “good” on the day in question.
Gibsons Fire Chief Rob Michael said the ventilation index can be difficult to gauge because conditions can vary between the Island and the Sunshine Coast, and they often change rapidly.
He said a burn can only start when the index is good, and can continue if it drops to fair. The fire has to be put out, though, if the index becomes poor.
In the case of the two burns that led to most of the complaints, the index was good on Friday afternoon, but had become poor by Saturday.
The fire department issues permits for land clearing burns after a safety inspection, but it’s up to the Conservation Officer (CO) Service to respond to any smoke complaints after the fires are lit.
CO Dean Miller told Coast Reporter they followed up on “a few” complaints from the Gibsons area, and ordered a burn stopped because it was “negatively affecting the neigbouring residences.” The other fire was out within 24 hours of being lit on Friday.
The window for backyard burns (which don’t require a permit) is from Oct. 15 to April 15 in SCRD Areas E and F, and Michael said this has been a busy year for complaints related to those smaller fires.
Michael added that his department is growing increasingly concerned about people using backyard burns to get rid of construction waste. It’s against the rules, and potentially hazardous to people’s health.
Michael said the department had to deal with a least a dozen such fires, including one where people set an old chicken coop ablaze instead of tearing it down and disposing of the material properly.
You can find details of the regulations, and applicable local bylaws, through the various fire department websites.
