Author: admin

We’re expecting a complete fire ban to begin on Thursday, May 7, at noon. No backyard burning, no category 3 piles, and no campfires. Any open permits will be considered revoked on Thursday at noon.

There have been 11 wildfire starts on Vancouver Island, and a minor one here on Hornby. Our partners at BC Wildfire Service have done an excellent job of getting them all out and mopped up, but it’s just going to get harder and harder as the weather heats up.

Much of B.C. has been experiencing hot, dry, and sunny conditions over the past several days, drying out vegetation across the province. Wind is expected to increase tomorrow through the north and parts of central B.C., and across most areas on Wednesday, May 6. If a wildfire starts, it could grow quickly.

The good news is that we are looking at a spring chipping run to begin in the next few weeks. More news on that as soon as we can schedule the contractor.

Given the drying conditions, the fact that we’ve just seen our first wildfire in our zone, the two burn pile-related incidents we’ve attended in as many weeks, and the prospect of a nasty fire season, we will soon require permits for all burns larger than a campfire. Permits are free and can be obtained by calling the fire hall at 250.335.2611 or by filling out the form at the bottom of the page. Someone will come to inspect your burn pile on Wednesday and Saturday mornings.

The HIFR member who comes to see your backyard burn pile will want to see the following:

• A water source
• Hand tools for extinguishing
• 3m clearance to buildings, tall grass, or standing timber.

Any burn piles containing logs or stumps are considered category III piles and require:

• A provincial burn number
• 250 gallons of water and a pump capable of delivering 50GPM
• a good vent index
• at least 1km from the school
• more than 500m from the closest residence

Over the next couple of weeks, you may be surprised to see what looks like a new fire truck on Hornby. Oyster River 42 is a truck that our good friends at Oyster River Fire have loaned us while our “first out” engine is in Rob’s shop for repairs. To get it recertified for another 5 years of service, it needs significant work on its pump intake manifold. This work is expected to take at least a week.

Big thanks go out to Chief Bruce Green and Deputy Chief Jeff Caring for arranging for us to use their rig.

Also, we are so fortunate to have the “machine whisperer” Rob Zielinski on our team, keeping our equipment in such great running order. I call him the machine whisperer because someone will be running a truck pump and he’ll come up to me and say, “You hear that sound?”

The pump will be going “grgrggrgggggggrgr”, like it always does, and I’ll nod and say “oh yeah, of course … what is it?” He’ll say something like “The wupperman valve is overcharging the internal dynamic extrator. You can tell because your gradient meter is showing 10 nanopascals out of spec.”

I say, “Oof, that sounds serious. Can you fix it?”

“Yeah, but I’ll have to take out the scronculator and machine the phase detractor in my lathe.”

Running a remote/rural fire service can be challenging, but I rarely have to worry about our machinery, and I know we have incredible support from our neighbouring fire departments.

I’m sad to announce that we have to cancel this year’s camp due to the lack of senior firefighters available to lead the sessions. Several of us will be off the island, and the remaining crew will be busy with their regular day jobs. 

It has been suggested that we try to schedule something for the first week or two of summer vacation. This will depend on how the province’s fire season shapes up. Stay tuned for more info on that.

Sorry for bringing you this disappointing news.

HIFR is thrilled to present this year’s Halloween fireworks show. The fuse will be lit at 8PM sharp on October 31. Once again, Outer Island B&B has graciously offered their field for the event.

The best spot for viewing the display will be on DePape Road, near the intersection of Porpoise, close to the water tank.

Effective noon on Thursday Sept 25, we will be lifting the burning ban. Both Campfires and backyard burn piles will be allowed, but category 3 (machine built) fires are still disallowed.

Campfires are a half meter, or less, in diameter and used for cooking, warmth, or ceremony. Please use water to extinguish your campfire. Burying it in sand leaves a very hot pit which can give a person or animal a nasty burn.

If you are planning a backyard brush pile, please call the non-emergency number at the fire hall (250.335.2611) and leave your name, contact number, and address so we have an idea of how many fires are burning on the island.

To report an illegal or dangerous fire, please call 911

TLDR: No chainsaw ban at noon (Sep 8)

Last night we had some hyper-localized light rain. Shingle Spit is bone dry, but the roads are damp at the firehall. The roads and lawns may be damp this morning, but no moisture made it through the canopy.

I have backed off the fire hazard to “HIGH” and won’t implement the high-risk activity restrictions today. I highly recommend morning shift for any such activities, followed by a 30-minute fire watch. Best practice is to have water standing by.

A total fire ban remains in effect.

Unless we get some rain on Sunday, the restrictions will go into effect on Monday, Sep 8 at noon. Here is a list of the most common activities that are temporarily suspended:

• mechanical brushing;
• using fire- or spark-producing tools, including cutting tools;
• using or preparing fireworks or pyrotechnics;
• grinding, including rail grinding;
• mechanical land clearing;
• clearing and maintaining rights of way, excluding residential lawn mowing
• operating a power saw (chainsaw);
• welding;
• portable wood chipping, milling, processing or manufacturing;

Residential lawn mowing is not banned, but it should be accompanied by a working garden hose that can reach the entire area and a minimum 1-hour fire watch afterwards.

We understand that this creates a hardship on anyone who makes their living in the tree business. We also know it throws a kink into the plans of anyone who is working on getting their firewood ready for the fall. Implementing these restrictions is not something I take lightly, but considering our remoteness, I feel it is time.

Please call the firehall at 250.335.2611 if you have any questions.

The Coastal Fire Center of the BC Wildfire Service has put a campfire ban in effect beginning Thursday, July 17 at noon.

CSA and UL-certified propane fire rings are permitted. They can be identified by their lack of smoke, no sparks, and a consistent flame. If you see a fire on the island, and you are confident it isn’t a propane ring, please call 911 and ask for a duty officer investigation.

Miranda Johnson, Internal Communications Officer for the Ministry of Forests, wrote an excellent article about the Wildfire Risk Reduction project we conducted here on Hornby Island. She interviewed most of the people who were involved and did a great job of capturing what we were trying to accomplish.

“The success of the Hornby Island project stands as a testament not only to its innovative and climate-conscious approach to wildfire resilience but also to the power of value-driven collaboration with local leadership and the community.”

I’m proud of how the project turned out, and I believe it is an example of how to do this type of work on Hornby and in other coastal communities.