Wildfire Season Starts April 1st ~

and that's no April Fools' Joke!

Permits for yard waste piles will be required starting April 1st.  

The Permit Pager will be turned on between the hours of 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. on April 1st at 250-715-9131  or you may apply for a permit on-line by visiting www.thetisislandfire.ca and choosing the link for Burn Permits.

We don't know how wildfire season will shape up this year.  Already in the past week five Cowichan Valley fire depts. have responded to bush fires, grass fires and out of control yard waste fires into the trees, even though it has been fairly wet.  On our own island last week, a resident found a stubborn root fire popping up in different places on his property that took two days and a lot of digging to extinguish.  He had thought he had thoroughly extinguished a small yard waste burn pile weeks previous and was surprised to see smoke drifting up out of the ground in several places.  Luckily that underground fire reared its head in March and not August.

Please be careful and follow all burning regulations.  Report any problems immediately so that we can get a jump on things.

Thanks!

Fire Chief J. Caldbeck

Thetis Island Fire Dept.