Fire Danger Rating

The "Grizzly Ext" weather station that we have been advised to follow has us as a narrow spot of 3, or moderate fire risk. We are surrounded by 4, or high, with a band of 5 or extreme close to the border in the Boundary.

Considerations for Commercial Operators:

 

Step 1. What is a high risk activity?

Your first step is to determine if your proposed activity is considered a "high risk activity".

High risk activities are defined in the Wildfire Regulation under "Definitions".

In the Wildfire Regulation, high risk activities mean each of the following: 
(As per Wildfire Regulation consolidated April 2023.)

(a) mechanical brushing; 
(b) disk trenching; 
(c) preparation or use of explosives; 
(d) using fire- or spark-producing tools, including cutting tools; 
(e) using or preparing fireworks or pyrotechnics; 
(f) grinding, including rail grinding; 
(g) mechanical land clearing; 
(h) clearing and maintaining rights of way, including grass mowing; 
(i) any of the following activities carried out in a cutblock excluding a road, landing, roadside work area or log sort area in the cutblock: 
    (i) operating a power saw; 
    (ii) mechanical tree felling, woody debris piling or tree processing, including de-limbing; 
    (iii) welding; 
    (iv) portable wood chipping, milling, processing or manufacturing; 
    (v) skidding logs or log forwarding unless it is improbable that the skidding or forwarding will result in the equipment contacting rock; 
    (vi) yarding logs using cable systems; 
(j) to (q) Repealed. [B.C. Reg. 213/2008, s. 1 (b).]

If you have determined that your proposed activity is listed above as a high risk activity, your next step is to find out what the fire danger rating is at your proposed location of operation. See Step 2.

Step 2. What is the fire danger rating at the location of my operation?

Under section 6 of the Wildfire Regulation, those conducting high risk activities are required to use representative weather data to determine the fire danger rating for their location. The source of this data could be internal weather stations, other third parties, or the detailed fire danger ratings provided (at the bottom of the Fire danger page) for every BC Wildfire Service weather station.

These detailed fire danger ratings may be applicable to the location of the high risk activity, or may be adapted by persons using this data to the specific location of the high risk activity.

It is also possible to gain access to daily fire weather data and forecasts from the BC Wildfire Service using a BCeID. To access these pages you will need to: 

1) Register for a BCeID; available at www.bceid.ca

2) Contact your fire centre or HPR.1800@gov.bc.ca, Superintendent, Fire Weather, with the following information:

• Name
• BCeID user name
• Company name
• Your position with the company
• Company address
• Contact phone number
• Email address

Once you know what the fire danger rating is at your proposed location of operation, reference Schedule 3 Restrictions on High Risk Activities of the Wildfire Regulation to find out if there are any restrictions on how and when you can conduct a high risk activity. See Step 3.

Schedule 3 
Restrictions on High Risk Activities 
(As per Wildfire Regulation consolidated April 2023)

Fire Danger Class (DGR)	Restriction	Duration
III  (moderate)	After 3 consecutive days of DGR III or greater, implement a fire watch immediately after the high risk activity ends for a minimum of one hour.	Until after the fire danger class falls below DGR III.
IV  (high)	Implement a fire watch immediately after the high risk activity ends for a minimum of two hours.	Until after the fire danger class falls to DGR III for 2 consecutive days or falls below DGR III.
	After 3 consecutive days of DGR IV, cease activity between 1 p.m. PDT (Pacific Daylight Savings Time) and sunset each day.	Until after the fire danger class falls to DGR III for 2 consecutive days, or falls below DGR III.
V  (extreme)	Cease activity between 1 p.m. PDT (Pacific Daylight Savings Time) and sunset each day and implement a fire watch immediately after the high risk activity ends for a minimum of two hours.	Until after the fire danger class falls below DGR IV for 2 or more consecutive days.
	After 3 consecutive days of DGR V, cease activity all day.	Until after the fire danger class to DGR IV for 3 or more consecutive days or falls below DGR IV.

This chart outlines the restrictions that may exist on a high risk activity.

Last few days up here: 3,2,3,3,4,3

Use caution when performing higher risk activities - maintain fire watch at least one hour after finishing. If you have a "P" can - fill it, working in your yard, have a hose handy.