Can chainsaw use be prohibited during the summer heat?

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - The #1 complaint the Cortes Island Fire Department received this summer was that some people continued to use chainsaws despite the drought and the possibility of sparking a wildfire. Interim Fire Chief Eli McKenty said this occurred in multiple locations across Cortes Island. He explained the current regulations are ‘too fuzzy’ to enforce and a possible solution may be adding chainsaw use to the proposed Cortes Island Open Burning Bylaw currently before the Strathcona Regional District Board.

The topic came up during an interview with Cortes Currents last week. Chief McKenty was praising the community for the manner in which they were adapting to the threat of wildfires:

 “I think that people's awareness of wildfire risk and their efforts at mitigating that through FireSmart preparedness continues to grow. I think that's super important. Also, I think we've had fewer burning complaints this year than some years, which is good and indicates that people are being careful and aware of the dangers. So all of that's very encouraging.”

This prompted Cortes Currents to ask, “What about people using chainsaws during the summer?”

EM: “That’s a tricky one and I have had more phone calls on that topic than anything else this summer.”

“It is regulated by the province under the B.C. Wildfire Act, we actually don't have any jurisdiction at this point over either open burning or chainsaw use. The regulations around it are fairly complex, and unfortunately, there's a certain amount of room for interpretation too. I have had quite different interpretations from two different people at BC Wildfire, because I've phoned for clarification on a number of occasions.”

“Basically, there's a list on the BC wildfire website of high risk activities, which includes chainsaw use and clearing. The language around where the chainsaw can be used is a little bit fuzzy. In addition, where you can use it is based on the fire weather index at whatever you determine is the most relevant weather station for your area.  We have weather stations. There's one on Maurelle Island, which I think is geographically the closest, but it's not very representative of the weather on Cortes. There's also Powell River, Quinsam and Theodosia Inlet.” 

“Then there's other complications around how many days the fire danger rating has been in its current state, and those determine how long of a fire watch you have to have. That's very complex, and it's primarily written for industry, although it does seem to apply to private property as well.”


“I would like to have a lot more clarity about it.”


“One of the things that's in discussion at the Regional District right now is the possibility of having our own Open Burning Bylaw. We had a situation, I think it was in July, where the province briefly lifted the campfire ban on Cortes because the bulk of the area that we're grouped in with had had enough rain that the danger was reduced, whereas we hadn't had any rain. People were quite legitimately concerned that we were allowing campfires when we really shouldn't have been.”

“The solution to that is if we have our own local bylaw that supersedes the provincial regulation and we can regulate it ourselves if we choose. If the Regional District passes a bylaw enabling that, I believe that chainsaw use could also be included, but that's something that the community would have to consider, whether that was something that they would like to have locally regulated.”

If the SRD adopts chainsaw regulations, they would most likely only apply to the part of Cortes Island within the Fire Protection Area. This does not include the northern part of the island, the southern shores of Gorge Harbour, Tiber Bay or Tla’amin First Nation land.