Nova Scotia is banning on open fires across the province. That's because with the sunny, hot weather the risk of fire is high or extreme from one end of the province to the other.

"The biggest threat to the forests right now is any kind of ignition source at all," said Jim Rudderham, supervisor of Wildfire Management for the Natural Resources Department.

"People start 99 per cent of our fires in this province, so people have to exercise extreme caution with anything that can possibly start a fire."

The ban means no one is allowed to start a fire within 300 metres of any wooded area with one exception.

"If you're in a camping ground like a provincial camping ground or some private campground that have approved pits or fireplaces, you can still burn there," said Rudderham. "But that's because mostly people are watching those fire quite closely and they're being patrolled by staff."

The ban is in place indefinitely. The last time there was a province-wide ban on fires was in 2008.