Campfire ban in B.C.’s Southern Interior to begin Thursday – Okanagan | 24CA News
Campfires in B.C.’s Southern Interior will quickly be banned all through summer time and early fall.
On Tuesday, the Ministry of Forests introduced that beginning midday on Thursday, June 8, campfires might be prohibited all through the Kamloops Fire Centre.
The ministry says it’s issuing the ban “to help prevent human-caused wildfires and protect public safety,” and that it’s in impact till midday on Oct. 13 or till the order is rescinded.
As it stands, Category 2 and three fires are already prohibited.
A Category 2 open fireplace may be one or two piles that measure as much as two metres in peak in three metres in width, or stubble or grass being burned that doesn’t exceed 0.2 of a hectare.
A Category 3 open fireplace is three piles or greater than exceed two metres in peak and three meters in width; a number of windrows that exceed 200 metres in size or 15 metres in width; grass or stubble that exceeds 0.2 of a hectare.
In addition to open fires being prohibited, the ministry says the beneath objects are additionally restricted:
- Fireworks
- Sky lanterns
- Burn barrels or burn cages of any dimension or description
- Binary exploding targets
- Air curtain burners
- Tiki and related sorts of torches
- Chimineas
This prohibition doesn’t embrace using out of doors stoves with flame heights lower than 15 cm tall.
“These prohibitions apply to all public and private land within the Kamloops Fire Centre jurisdiction unless specified otherwise in an enactment,” stated the ministry.
“Always check with local government authorities to see if any other burning restrictions are in effect.”
The province says anybody present in contravention of an open-burning prohibition could also be issued a ticket for $1,150, required to pay an administrative penalty of as much as $10,000 or, if convicted in court docket, fined as much as $100,000 and/or sentenced to at least one yr in jail.
It additionally stated that if the contravention causes or contributes to a wildfire, the individual accountable could also be ordered to pay all firefighting and related prices.
“Camping is a long-standing tradition in this province,” stated the ministry.
“The B.C. government recognizes that people also enjoy having campfires, so it takes any decision to implement a campfire ban very seriously.”
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