VANCOUVER -- A judge has granted a one-week adjournment to allow the homeless camped at Vancouver's Oppenheimer Park a chance to prepare for an application by the park board to remove their tent city.

As a safety measure, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Jennifer Duncan also ordered that fires at the tent city be extinguished and that tarps around the tents be limited in size.

The defendants named in the lawsuit had asked for a 10-day adjournment, arguing they had not had enough time to prepare for the board's injunction application, expected to start Monday.

Lawyers for the park board opposed the adjournment, arguing that there were urgent fire and police concerns that need to be addressed.

The judge said those concerns were valid but noted that some of the defendants did not have lawyers and needed time to prepare any affidavits they might want to file.

"Balancing the interests of both sides, I've concluded that an adjournment until next Monday, Oct. 6 is appropriate," she said.

"This adjournment does not come without a price to the residents in the park. I am prepared to make an interim order governing conditions in the park to alleviate as many of the concerns of police and fire personnel as may be done."

The judge ordered that fires be put out and that tarps be fashioned to conform to the shape of the tents they cover, to allow fire and police easy access to the site, and that they not protrude more than a few inches beyond the sides of the tents.

A potential source of controversy is an aboriginal "sacred fire" that has burned at the site.

Court heard that the fire had been extinguished five days ago, but several of the named defendants said outside court that the fire was a "holy" flame and was needed to comfort the homeless and would be re-lit on Tuesday night.

The judge said the issue of the sacred fire should be dealt with between the homeless and fire officials.

She also directed that the homeless at the camp register themselves at nearby social services facilities so that the court can get a better estimate of how many people are involved.

Parks board officials have said that 200 tents are now pitched at the site and that up to 150 people have been staying overnight in the tents.

They are seeking an injunction to remove the tents, arguing that there is sufficient shelter for the homeless elsewhere in the city.

The protest site began with tents being pitched in the park in July. Some of the protesters have said that there needs to be permanent, safe and affordable housing for the homeless and that the shelters are an inadequate measure.

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