Ministry of Forests to expand open-burning bans for Kamloops Fire Centre  

Starting next week, most types of fires will be prohibited throughout the Kamloops Fire Centre.

On Friday, the Ministry of Forests announced that Category 2 and 3 fires will be prohibited. The ban, which does not apply to small campfires, will start on Wednesday, July 29^th, at noon.

The ministry said the ban will remain in effect until Oct. 15, or until the order is rescinded, and is being enacted to help prevent human-caused wildfires.

This prohibition will remain in effect until noon on Oct. 15, 2020, or until the order is rescinded, and applies to all public and private land within the Kamloops Fire Centre jurisdiction.

The ministry said the 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 map of the affected area is available here.

2:26 Forest fire activity down significantly in B.C. compared to this time last year with no fires currently burning anywhere in the province.

Below are the bans for the Southeast Fire Centre, according to the Ministry of Forests:

Category 2 open-burn prohibitions include the following activities and equipment:

• Burning of any waste, slash or other materials;
• Open fires larger than 0.5 metres wide by 0.5 metres high;
• Stubble or grass fires of any size over any area;
• Sky lanterns;
• Fireworks, including firecrackers;
• Binary exploding targets;
• Burn barrels or burn cages of any size or description except when used for a campfire as defined by the wildfire regulation; and
• The use of air curtain burners.

Category 3 open burn prohibited activities include:

• Any fire 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; and
• Burning of stubble or grass over an area greater than 0.2 hectares.

1:47 Can we stop wildfires sooner?

The ministry says 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.

Further, it said if the contravention causes or contributes to a wildfire, the person responsible may be ordered to pay all firefighting and associated costs.