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Air Quality

Air is a precious resource that many of us take for granted. Air supplies us with oxygen, which is essential for our bodies to live. Adults take about 20,000 breaths per day. Children breathe almost twice that amount because they are smaller and their respiratory systems are still maturing. Check your local air quality by clicking on the Air Quality Map .

Clean air is important for health. Learn more about protecting the air in our region:

The Air Quality Problem – Learn about the threats to clean air in our region
Airshed Protection – Find out who is working to protect our air locally
Clear the Air Cowichan – Learn how to minimize local pollution from burning

Backyard Burning

For burn piles up to 2 metres high and 2 metres wide.

If you have to burn, only burn when the venting index is rated Good, not Fair or Poor.

CVRD bylaws specify the allowable burning dates each year are March 15 to April 15 and October 15 to November 15.

Land Clearing Burning

For burn piles larger than 2 metres high and 3 metres wide, please refer to the CVRD Burning: Know The Rules page.

Further Burning Information

The BC Wildfire Service Fire Bans and Restrictions page provides information regarding permissible burning for all provincial fire centres.

The BC venting index map shows venting conditions across the province.

Land Acknowledgement

The CVRD is in the ancestral and unceded territories of First Nations including (but not limited to) Quw'utsun (Cowichan Tribes), MÁLEXEŁ (Malahat), BOḰEĆEN (Pauquachin), c̓uubaʕsaʔtx̣ (Ts'uubaa-asatx), xeláltxw (Halalt), Spune’luxutth (Penelakut), Stz'uminus, Leey’qsun (Lyackson), Diitiidʔaaʔtx̣ (Ditidaht) and P’a:chi:da?aht (Pacheedaht) Peoples. Local First Nations Peoples have stewarded the lands of this region since time immemorial. The CVRD is committed to the ongoing journey of reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in the region by strengthening cooperation, collaboration, and relationship building.