Those who wish to have a fire in Banff National Park are in luck.
As of Monday, August 20th, both the Town of Banff and Banff National Park downgraded the Fire Ban they were under, and now they are under a Fire Restriction.
The Fire Ban was lifted due to the current and forecasted weather conditions, the amount of moisture the vegetation has, the regional wildfire situation and the availability of responders, and the local fire danger.
Under a Fire Restriction, people are now allowed to have campfires, but the fires have to be in a designated metal fire pit, a metal firebox, or a cook stove within a cooking shelter.
In the Town of Banff, campfires are permitted in campgrounds and day uses with metal fire pits, and fires are allowed in wood stoves that are found in the Recreation Grounds and private property.
For both the Town and the National Park, they are reminding people to attend to their campfires the entire time the fire is lit, and to extinguish the fire completely with water prior to leaving the fire unattended.
As the saying goes, soak it, stir it, and soak it again and make sure it's cool to the touch.
Even though naturally occurring wildfires are unavoidable, human-caused fires are preventable.
To stay up to date on fire bans in the province, click here.
