Starting at noon on Monday, July 8, all open fires are banned within the Southeast Fire Centre’s jurisdiction (see attached map).
The Wildfire Management Branch says this is to prevent human-caused wildfires and to protect public safety. The ban will remain in place until September 20, unless otherwise noted.
Prohibited activities include:
– the burning of any waste, slash or other materials.
– stubble or grass fires of any size over any area.
– the use of fireworks, sky lanterns, or burning barrels of any size or description.
This ban does not restrict 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.
However, campfires must not be larger than 0.5 metres by 0.5 metres in size. Anyone lighting a campfire must maintain a fireguard by removing flammable debris from around the campfire area and must have a hand tool or at least eight litres of water available nearby to properly extinguish the fire. Also, make sure that that the campfire is fully extinguished and the ashes are cold to the touch before leaving the area for any length of time.
This prohibition covers all BC Parks, Crown and private lands, but does not apply within the boundaries of local governments that have forest fire prevention bylaws and are serviced by a fire department. Please check with civic authorities for any restrictions before lighting a fire.
Anyone found in contravention of an open fire prohibition may be issued a ticket for $345 or, if convicted in court, be fined up to $100,000 and sentenced to one year in jail.
Crews from the Southeast Fire Centre have responded to 27 wildfires since April 1 (22 caused by humans and five caused by lightning), which have burned a total of 168 hectares.
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