The Southeast Fire Centre says careless use of fireworks is the suspected cause of a small fire Monday afternoon just below the Pulpit Rock lookout.
An initial attack crew of four responded immediately and extinguished it.
“Luckily they got to it early and put it out quickly,” said information officer Jordan Turner. “It could have grown quickly up the mountain, especially with how dry it is. Considering the slope and high-traffic area, it could have been quite dangerous.”
The fire danger rating in the area is currently high and is only expected to increase through the weekend with scorching temperatures forecast.
It’s the second incident in the last week the fire centre has responded to where fireworks resulted in a wildfire.
Effective noon today, Category 2 open fires are prohibited in the Southeast Fire Centre to help prevent human-caused wildfires and protect public safety.
This prohibition will remain in place until further notice. The Category 3 open burning prohibition that was put in place on May 22 remains in effect.
Specifically, prohibited activities include the burning of waste or other materials; stubble or grass fires of any size over any area; the use of fireworks, sky lanterns, burning barrels or burning cages of any size or description; the use of air curtain burners (forced air burning systems).
This prohibition does not ban campfires that are a half-metre high by a half-metre wide or smaller, and it does not apply to cooking stoves that use gas, propane or briquettes. To learn about the differences between campfires, Category 2 open fires and Category 3 open fires, visit bit.ly/1GlhE9l.