BC Wildfire Service bans larger burns throughout entire Kamloops Fire Centre

In a news release from BC Wildfire Service (BCWS) Thursday (June 23), the burning prohibition is to help prevent human-caused wildfires and protect public safety.

Prohibited activities that would constitute a Category Three open fire include:

• Any fires larger than two metres high by three metres wide
• Three or more concurrently burning piles no larger than two metres high by three metres wide
• Burning of one or more windrows
• Burning of stubble or grass over an area greater than 0.2 hectares.

The prohibition will remain in place until Oct. 15, 2022, or until the public is otherwise notified. Anyone conducting a Category Three open fire anywhere within the Cariboo Chilcotin Forest District and in the Quesnel Forest District must extinguish them by the time the ban is in effect. Category Three open fires were prohibited throughout the 100 Mile Forest District on May 4.

The Kamloops Fire Centre includes the Merritt, Kamloops, Lillooet, Penticton and Vernon Fire Zones.

However, the prohibition doesn’t ban campfires that are half-metre high by a high-metre wide or smaller and does not apply to cooking stoves that use gas, propane or briquettes. Category Three open fire prohibition applies to all B.C. Parks, Crown lands, and private lands, but doesn’t apply within the boundaries of a local government that has forest fire prevention bylaws in place and is serviced by a fire department.

Anyone found in contravention of an open-burning prohibition may be issued a violation ticket for $1,150, and may be required to pay an administrative penalty of up to $10,000 or, if convicted in court, fined up to $100,000 and/or sentenced to one year in jail. If the contravention causes or contributes to a wildfire, the person responsible may be ordered to pay all firefighting and associated costs.

Anyone can report a wildfire, unattended campfire, or open burning violation by calling 1 800 663-5555 toll-free or *5555 on a cell phone.

As of noon Thursday, BCWS says the fire danger rating in the Cariboo Fire Centre mostly ranks “very low” and “low.”