Effective at noon on Wednesday, July 29, Category 2 and Category 3 open fires, as well as other fire-related equipment and activities, will be prohibited throughout the Kamloops Fire Centre. This prohibition is being enacted to help prevent human-caused wildfires and protect public safety as the temperature soars across the Southern Interior.
This prohibition will remain in effect until noon on Oct. 15, 2020 or until the order is rescinded. Anyone conducting Category 2 or Category 3 open fires within the Kamloops Fire Centre’s jurisdiction must extinguish those fires by the July 29 deadline. A map of the affected area is available online at http://ow.ly/ADmB30r0u3j.
This prohibition does not prohibit campfires that are a half-metre high by a half-metre wide (or smaller) and does not apply to cooking stoves that use gas, propane, or briquettes. A poster explaining the different categories of open burning is available online at http://ow.ly/znny309kJv5.
Specifically, prohibited activities will include Category 2 open fires; Category 3 open fires; the use of fireworks; the use of sky lanterns; the use of binary exploding targets; and the use of burn barrels or burn cages of any size or description except when used for a campfire as defined by the wildfire regulation.
These prohibitions apply to all public and private land within the Kamloops Fire Centre jurisdiction, unless specified otherwise in an enactment (e.g. in a local government bylaw). Before lighting any fire, people should check with local government authorities to see if any other burning restrictions are in effect within the municipality’s jurisdiction.
Where allowed, campfires should be no larger than half-a-metre high by half-a-metre wide. Material to extinguish the fire should be nearby and readily accessible. Do not leave a campfire unattended, and do not leave it until you are sure it is completely out (the fire is cold to the touch).
Anyone found in contravention of an open burning prohibition may be issued a ticket for $1,150, 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.
The Kamloops Fire Centre would like to thank the public for its continuing help in preventing wildfires. To report a wildfire, unattended campfire, or open burning violation, call 1-800-663-5555 toll-free or *5555 on a cell phone. For up-to-date information on current wildfire activity, burning restrictions, road closures, and air quality advisories, call 1-888-3-FOREST or visit www.bcwildfire.ca.
editorial@accjournal.ca
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