Tuesday, July 7, 2015

Provincial Fire Ban now includes City of Prince Rupert

Our lengthy streak of hot and dry weather now has delivered something that many probably never thought they would see on the North Coast, with Prince Rupert and area now under an Open Fire ban, joining the rest of the province when it comes to Fire restrictions.

Mayor Lee Brain outlined the nature of the ban to City Council on Monday evening, expanding on the topic through his Facebook page and twitter feed later in the evening.

The ban now in place, will include campfire and backyard fire pits along with any form of open burning in the City and Port Edward.



As late as last week, the North Coast was the only area of the province that did not fall under the provincial fire ban, the dividing line having been set at Rainbow summit.

At the moment there is no mention of the Fire Ban on the City's website, a form of communication distribution from the city that appears to be overlooked far too often in the new push towards social media driven information.

That's  an oversight that should probably be addressed, particularly for those in the community that don't follow the Mayor through his social media streams.

Beyond the idea that not everyone may be following the Mayor on Facebook, such Civic declarations as a Fire Ban and other items of importance should make use of the "official" destination for information for all city matters.

A location where important items perhaps won't get lost in the clutter of photos and reports on social activities that the Facebook and twitter options tend to focus on.

From the city's website residents could be offered more background information related to the fire ban and the nature of fines that could be assessed if it is not observed, as well as any other notes related to the ban in place.

The Mayor noted on Monday, that there is currently no timeline in place as to when the ban will be lifted with Mayor Brain advising that the public will be informed when that time comes.

Hopefully that information will be shared through the various social media options currently being used by civic officials, as well as the official City of Prince Rupert website.

For more background on Fire Bans across the province see the BC Wildfire Service website here.

Further information from Prince Rupert City Council discussions can be found through our Council archive page.

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