With the current trend of hot and dry weather coupled with wildfires breaking out in B.C. – as of 12 p.m. on August 1, all campfires will be prohibited in the Kamloops Fire Centre.
The fire centre includes the following zones: Lillooet, Kamloops, Clearwater, Salmon Arm, Vernon, Penticton and Merritt.
The forest ministry is taking this step to ensure public safety and help prevent human-caused wildfire. The fire danger rating is currently “high” throughout the Kamloops Fire Centre, with scattered pockets of “extreme”.
The open burning ban is prohibited in all BC Parks, Crown and private lands throughout the Kamloops Fire Centre. It applies to open fires of any size, fires with a burn registration number, industrial burning, fireworks, tiki torches, sky lanterns and burning barrels. The prohibition does not apply to cooking stoves that use gas, propane or briquettes, or to a portable campfire apparatus with a CSA or ULC rating that uses briquettes, liquid or gaseous fuel, as long as the height of the flame is less than 15 centimetres.
Anyone that violates the fire ban, including campfires, may be issued at $345 ticket.
The ban will remain in place until the public is notified its been removed.
For the latest information on current wildfire activity, burning restrictions, road closures and air quality advisories, go the BC wildfire website.
A map of the area covered by the campfire ban is available online.
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