Oak Bay backyard fire and burning rules
Can I have a backyard fire or burn yard waste in Oak Bay?
Short answer
No. In Oak Bay, outdoor fires, including backyard burning and beach fires, are not permitted. Exceptions are CSA-certified propane or natural gas appliances on private property and charcoal briquette cooking fires. A ticket is $500 ($350 if paid within 30 days).
Key facts
| Backyard campfires | Not allowed. Outdoor fires, including backyard burning and beach fires, are not permitted. Exceptions: CSA-certified propane or natural gas appliances on private property, and charcoal briquette fires for cooking in a structure made for that purpose.Fire Prevention, Oak Bay Fire Department, Outdoor Fires; Fire Prevention and Life Safety Bylaw No. 4919, 2025, ss. 47, 48, 50 · Wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-06Official wordingOutdoor fires, including backyard burning and beach fires, are not permitted in Oak Bay. no person shall light, ignite or maintain any fire, or permit or cause any fire to be lit, ignited or outdoor burning appliances that use natural gas or propane may be used on private property, provided that the appliance is Canadian Standards a fire fuelled solely by charcoal briquettes, lit, ignited and maintained solely for the cooking of food |
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| Burning yard waste | Not allowed. No one may light or keep a fire in the open air, and burning of prohibited materials (including garbage, grass cuttings, plastics, treated lumber) is banned outright.Fire Prevention and Life Safety Bylaw No. 4919, 2025, ss. 46, 47 · Wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-06Official wordingNo person shall burn any Prohibited Materials. no person shall light, ignite or maintain any fire, or permit or cause any fire to be lit, ignited or grass cuttings, aromatic hydrocarbons |
| Permit | No permit for backyard burning. Council may permit a fire for a not-for-profit community event or cultural celebration, with the Fire Chief approving a safety plan. No fee stated.Fire Prevention and Life Safety Bylaw No. 4919, 2025, s. 49 · Wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-06Official wordingin connection with a not-for-profit community event, and/or a cultural celebration and/or the permission of Council has been applied for and obtained in advance; a plan for the management, containment, size and location of the fire has been |
| Fire bans | The Fire Chief may order that the exemption for propane, natural gas or charcoal cooking appliances on municipal property stops applying in all or part of Oak Bay because of fire hazard. Notice is posted on the District website and at the main offices.Fire Prevention and Life Safety Bylaw No. 4919, 2025, s. 51 · Wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-06Official wordingThe Fire Chief may order that, because of the level of fire hazard within the Corporation or a portion Notice of any such Order shall be posted on the Corporation’s website and posted publicly at the |
| Instead of burning | Leaves and yard trimmings can go in the green organics tote (collected every two weeks), to the Drop Off Depot at 1771 Elgin Road, or in the fall leaf and spring garden waste collections.Leaf and Garden Waste Collection, How to Dispose of Your Leaves · Wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-06Official wordingLeaves are accepted in our green bin (organics) bi-weekly collection Bring leaves to our Elgin Road Drop Off Depot during open hours (1771 Elgin Rd) |
| Fine | Municipal ticket: $500 ($350 if paid within 30 days) for burning prohibited materials, breaching open burning rules, or breaching a burning permit.Municipal Ticket Information Bylaw No. 4846, 2023 (consolidated), Sched. 11 · Wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-06Official wordingBurning Prohibited Materials 46 $500 $350 Breaching any other open burning restriction 47, 48, 50 $500 $350 Breaching any permit for open burning 49 $500 $350 |
| Bylaw | Fire Prevention and Life Safety Bylaw No. 4919, 2025, ss. 46 to 51Fire Prevention and Life Safety Bylaw No. 4919, 2025, s. 70 · Wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-06Official wordingThis bylaw may be cited as the “Fire Prevention and Life Safety Bylaw No. 4919, 2025” |
How it works
The Fire Prevention and Life Safety Bylaw bans lighting or keeping a fire in the open air. Backyard burning and beach fires are not permitted. Burning prohibited materials (including garbage, grass cuttings, plastics and treated lumber) is banned outright. No exception for yard waste or brush piles was found. Because wood fires are not permitted, no fire pit size rule is stated.
Exceptions: CSA-certified propane or natural gas appliances on private property, and charcoal briquette fires for cooking in a structure made for that purpose.
Steps
- For leaves and trimmings, use the green organics tote (collected on the "bi-weekly" schedule), the Drop Off Depot at 1771 Elgin Road, or the fall leaf and spring garden waste collections. See the yard-waste answer.
- For a community event or cultural celebration, ask Council. Council may permit a fire, and the Fire Chief approves a safety plan. No fee is stated.
- To report illegal burning, call Bylaw Enforcement on 250-598-3311.
Good to know
- The Fire Chief may order that the exemption for propane, natural gas or charcoal cooking appliances on municipal property stops applying in all or part of Oak Bay because of fire hazard. Notice is posted on the District website and at the main offices. Check oakbay.ca and the fire department page for current status.
- The Fire Chief may approve fire suppression training exercises.
- The District's older handout cites a repealed bylaw. Bylaw 4919 is followed here.
- The ticket is $500 ($350 if paid within 30 days), under Bylaw No. 4846.
Official forms and pages
The same question in other places
Victoria · Saanich · Esquimalt · View Royal · Colwood · Langford
Backyard fire and burning rules in British Columbia, by municipality →
Sources
- Fire Prevention and Life Safety Bylaw No. 4919, 2025 (PDF) (read 2026-11-06)
- Fire Prevention, Oak Bay Fire Department (read 2026-11-06)
- Leaf and Garden Waste Collection, District of Oak Bay (read 2026-11-06)
- Municipal Ticket Information Bylaw No. 4846, 2023 (consolidated) (PDF) (read 2026-11-06)
Checked by script, not yet by a person: the official wording behind 7 of 7 facts was matched to the official text. How answers are checked.