Press Release October 22, 2024
Metro Vancouver Reminds Residents to Register Wood-Burning Fireplaces
With the arrival of cool autumn weather, Metro Vancouver is asking residents to help keep the air clean in urban neighbourhoods and reminding them of the requirement to follow clean burning practices and register their wood-burning fireplaces, stoves, or furnaces.
Wood smoke from residential indoor wood burning can harm community health and is the largest source of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) emissions in the region. It contributes more than a quarter of the total annual regional PM2.5 emissions and is the second top source of toxic air pollutants. Exposure to wood smoke is of particular concern in densely populated urban areas.
Metro Vancouver, which manages and monitors air emissions in the region, receives the highest number of complaints about indoor wood smoke from Vancouver and the District of North Vancouver.
In March 2020, Metro Vancouver adopted a bylaw to reduce the health and environmental impacts of emissions from residential indoor wood burning. The bylaw has been rolled out in phases, and currently requires residents to declare the use of best burning practices and register eligible wood-burning devices online. The final phase, starting in September 2025, will prohibit the use of unregistered devices in urban areas.
To build greater awareness of wood smoke impacts and bylaw requirements, Metro Vancouver is running a public education campaign through December 30, 2024.
For more than 50 years, Metro Vancouver has provided, under delegated provincial authority, the service of air pollution control and air quality management in the region. Metro Vancouver’s air quality and climate action programs aim to prevent air pollution and maintain good air quality by regulating air contaminant emissions, including greenhouse gases, to protect human and environmental health.
Declare and Register Now
If you live in an urban area, please follow best burning practices and register your wood burning device online — it’s free and takes just five minutes to complete.
*for newcomers to our area, North Vancouver District, North Vancouver City and West Vancouver (the North Shore) are part of Metro Vancouver. Visit Metro Vancouver’s website for more information.