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Golf courses around Nova Scotia are introducing temporary smoking bans as wildfire conditions remain severe across the province.
Clubs such as Ashburn, Brightwood, Glen Arbour, and Paragon have prohibited smoking on their grounds, citing extreme dryness and the heightened fire risk. Granite Springs has also banned smoking on its course but set up a designated smoking area at its cart wash station.
Other clubs, including Oakfield, Hartlen Point, and Seaview, have opted against outright bans but are urging golfers to use caution. Oakfield is handing out small tin buckets so smokers can safely extinguish their cigarettes, while Seaview is encouraging players to use water cups to prevent sparks.
Golf courses say the restrictions are necessary to prevent any chance of fires starting on tree-lined fairways, many of which border residential areas.
The bans come as wildfires continue to burn in parts of the province, including the out-of-control Long Lake fire, and as the Halifax region faces lingering impacts from a blaze near Susies Lake. A provincial ban on trail use in wooded areas, issued earlier this month, also influenced some courses to act.
Golf course leaders say the measures will remain in place until conditions improve.
