Lions Bay backyard fire and burning rules
Can I have a backyard fire or burn yard waste in Lions Bay?
No. Lions Bay's Fire Bylaw bans open burning and bans building a fire pit or fire ring. Wood may not be burned outdoors except in permanent outdoor fire pits or fireplaces permitted and inspected before the bylaw took effect. The bylaw offers no burning permit.
Key facts
| Backyard campfires | Not allowed. No one may build a fire pit or fire ring, and no wood may be burned outside a building except in permanently built outdoor fire pits or fireplaces that were permitted and inspected before the bylaw took effect. Open burning (burning anything outdoors) is banned, apart from non-self-lighting charcoal, gas or propane for cooking or heating, and wood chips for flavouring food.Fire Bylaw No. 428, 2011, with Consumer Fireworks Policy, s. 4 definition of Open burning; s. 36, 37 · Wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-08Official wordingshall construct a fire pit or fire ring within the Village of Lions Bay. permanently constructed outdoor fire pits, fireplaces or the like that were permitted and inspected by the Open burning - means burning anything outside of a building, with the exclusion of the wood chips and the like |
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| Burning yard waste | Not allowed. No one may carry out open burning in the Village except Lions Bay Fire Rescue at Village-sanctioned public occasions, for training, or for fire prevention. Burning waste such as plastics, rubber, domestic or demolition waste is also banned inside or outside a dwelling.Fire Bylaw No. 428, 2011, with Consumer Fireworks Policy, s. 38, 41 · Wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-08Official wordingno person shall carry out open burning within the boundaries of the Village of Lions Bay. No person shall burn material included in Schedule “A” (Section 2 (b) of the Waste |
| Permit | None set. The Fire Bylaw offers no permit for campfires or burning yard waste.Read: Fire Bylaw No. 428, 2011, with Consumer Fireworks Policy |
| Fire bans | The Fire Chief may impose a total ban on burning, including the use of any outdoor combustion device such as barbecues, when hazardous fire conditions merit it.Fire Bylaw No. 428, 2011, with Consumer Fireworks Policy, s. 40 · Wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-08Official wordingA total ban on burning may be imposed within the Village of Lions Bay, including on the use of any outdoor combustion device including barbecues, if and when, in the opinion of the Fire Chief, hazardous fire conditions merit such a ban. |
| Instead of burning | Yard trimmings go in the weekly curbside compostables collection (kraft or compostable bags, marked containers or tied bundles), or can be dropped off at the Public Works Yard, 5 Tidewater Way, on Fridays 6 to 9 and Saturdays 8 to 11 (per the 2026 calendar).Solid Waste and Recycling Collection Bylaw No. 455, 2013, consolidated to Bylaw 657, s. 8(b)(iii), 14; 2026 Solid Waste Collection Calendar · Wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-08Official wordingPlacement of non-attractant garden waste in compostable kraft or Recycling, and compostable waste shall be collected weekly Tidewater Way, Friday 6-9, Saturday 8-11): Also: wildlife attractants, yardwaste in kraft bags |
| Fine | Bylaw notice: open burning $100 ($80 if paid within 14 days, $120 after 28 days); burning wood outside a building $100; building a fire pit or ring $100; burning or using a combustion device when banned $100.Bylaw Notice Enforcement Bylaw No. 385, 2006, Schedule A, Schedule A, Fire Bylaw No. 428, 2011 · Wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-08Official wordingConstruct fire pit or fire ring $100 $80 $120 YES Burn wood outside a building $100 $80 $120 NO Open burning $100 $80 $120 NO Burn or use combustion device outside when $100 $80 $120 YES |
| Bylaw | Fire Bylaw No. 428, 2011.Fire Bylaw No. 428, 2011, with Consumer Fireworks Policy, s. 1 · Wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-08Official wordingThis bylaw may be cited as “Fire Bylaw No. 428, 2011.” |
How it works
The Fire Bylaw No. 428 bans open burning (burning anything outdoors) in Lions Bay. Exceptions are non-self-lighting charcoal, gas or propane for cooking or heating, wood chips for flavouring food, and burning by Lions Bay Fire Rescue at Village-sanctioned public occasions, for training or for fire prevention. No one may build a fire pit or fire ring, and no wood may be burned outside a building except in permanently built outdoor fire pits or fireplaces that were permitted and inspected before the bylaw took effect. Burning waste such as plastics, rubber, domestic or demolition waste is banned inside or outside a dwelling. The bylaw offers no permit for campfires or burning yard waste.
Good to know
- The Fire Chief may ban all burning, including the use of outdoor combustion devices such as barbecues, when fire conditions are hazardous. No official page we read says where to check for a ban; call the Village Office at 604-921-9333.
- Yard trimmings go in the weekly curbside compostables collection, or to the Public Works Yard, 5 Tidewater Way. See the yard waste answer.
- Bylaw notice fines (Bylaw Notice Enforcement Bylaw): $100 ($80 if paid within 14 days, $120 after 28 days) for open burning, burning wood outside a building, building a fire pit or ring, or burning or using a combustion device when banned.
- The Fire Bylaw also sets a court penalty: a minimum fine of $2,500 and a maximum of $10,000, or up to 6 months in jail, or both.
- Metro Vancouver, not the Village, regulates air quality and wood-burning appliances.
Official forms and pages
The same question in other places
West Vancouver · Bowen Island · District of North Vancouver · North Vancouver · Gibsons · Squamish
Backyard fire and burning rules in British Columbia, by municipality →
Sources
- Fire Bylaw No. 428, 2011, with Consumer Fireworks Policy (PDF), Village of Lions Bay (read 2026-11-08)
- Bylaw Notice Enforcement Bylaw No. 385, 2006, Schedule A (PDF), Village of Lions Bay (read 2026-11-08)
- Solid Waste and Recycling Collection Bylaw No. 455, 2013, consolidated to Bylaw 657 (PDF), Village of Lions Bay (read 2026-11-08)
- 2026 Solid Waste Collection Calendar (PDF), Village of Lions Bay (read 2026-11-08)
Checked by script, not yet by a person: the official wording behind 6 of 7 facts was matched to the official text; 1 is recorded as not set. How answers are checked.