The unseasonably dry summer and early fall means no burning permits are being issued in Langley Township.

Normally, backyard burning of branches, leaves, and other yard waste starts as early as Sept. 15 and runs to Oct. 31, said assistant fire chief Pat Walker.

“We haven’t had any permits yet at all,” Walker said. “We won’t until we get some significant rain.”

After a drenching May and June, July and August have been very dry, and the humidity is low across Metro Vancouver, said Walker.

Metro Vancouver is currently rating the fire danger for Langley “high,” and humidity has been hovering near 60 or 61 per cent. That’s much lower than normal for this area.

Walker said the fire danger has been high for Langley for the past 12 days.

Normally by mid to late September, the fall rains have begun again and Langley has been soaked at least a few times.

This year, it seems that the dry part of summer arrived late and is leaving late, Walker said.

With the fire danger so high, even agricultural burning on farms has been banned. A few permits have been filled out, but none will be officially issued until the Township fire department is convinced it’s safe, Walker said.

There are normally two burning seasons in Langley, one in the spring and one in the fall. Burning is restricted to properties over half an acre in size, in mostly rural areas, and property owners can only burn yard waste from their own land, not processed lumber or construction waste.