Burning Issues

Today seemed to be the day for burning questions, even though it was not a burning day. Still a lot of confusion as to when and where you can burn. So for all you Sooke Fire Members and anyone else caring to know, these are the regulations.

Burning is permitted any day from October 1 to April 30 provided the VENTING INDEX is rated GOOD. On properties less than 2 acres, you can have one pile up to 2 x 2 x 1 m in size. (6'x6'x3' ) for those non metric people. On properties larger than 2 but less than 5 acres, your pile can be 2x2x2 m in size (or two smaller piles) On properties more than 5 acres in size, your pile can be 2 x 3 x 3 m in size (6 x 9 x 9 ft) or roughly the size of a dumptruck load.

For those wanting a burn pile larger than listed above, you must have a minimum of 10 acres of property and you must obtain a Class A burning permit at a fee of $50.00. This allows you to burn for 72 hours provided the Venting Index is GOOD the day you burn and predicted to be GOOD or FAIR the second day. There are no other exceptions. After 72 hours the fire must be extinguished. Your fire must also follow all of the Ministry of Environment Guidelines. This means the fire must be a 100 m from neighbouring homes, and 500 m from a day care, adult care facility, hospital or school in session. A person may obtain up to 4 permits per property per year and they must be a minimum of 15 calendar days apart. The burn pile must also be inspected by the fire department to ensure that all of the guidelines listed are in place.

Penalties for not complying with the burning bylaw are $200.00 for the first offence and $400.00 for repeat offences.

If a fire truck is called to put out the fire, the fee is $600.00 per hour for an engine and $180.00 per hour for the tender or one of the duty vehicles. This is on top of the fine listed above.

So to make this easy, check the Venting Index. If it is GOOD, you can burn. (but not tires, drywall, manure, bodies, cars, boats or GARBAGE) That is also a $200.00 fine.