With unseasonably dry conditions posing a potentially dangerous wildfire threat, the City of Penticton has issued a ban on open burning within city limits.
The ban took effect on June 4 and is in place until further notice.
“This order is in alignment with the unusually dry spring and expected rapid wildfire development,” the city wrote in a press release.
“It does not include Underwriters Laboratories of Canada-rated gas appliances.”
Campfires and bonfires, including backyard open fires, are not permitted in Penticton except at designated fire pits.
Municipalities have the power to implement fire bans with local boundaries while the province can implement restrictions on Crown and private land.
The BC Wildfire Service has not issued a ban on open fires, campfires or forest use in the Kamloops Fire Centre, as of Sunday.
As of May 3, category three open fires are prohibited throughout the 100 Mile Forest District in the Cariboo Fire Centre.
It was scorching hot in the Okanagan last week, increasing the fire risk.
Several communities set new temperature records.
According to data from Environment Canada, from Kamloops to Osoyoos, thermometer readings ranged from the low-to-mid 30s.
The mercury reached 36.2 C in Kelowna, breaking the old mark of 34.5 C that was set in 2007. Osoyoos also hit 36.2 C, eclipsing the old record of 35.0 C set in 1970.
The region has seen below-average precipitation over the last few months, and as of May 15, the snowpack had begun melting slightly earlier than normal.
Depending on how much rainfall B.C. gets in June, the province could be in for another very dry summer.
The BC Wildfire Service is also concerned, not only for this season but for the years to come.
“From a wildfire perspective, we’re seeing climate change affect us in two different ways. It’s generating more severe weather events, long-term heat waves, longer termed drought, and a longer fire season,” wildfire prevention specialist Dana Hicks said.
“But we’re also seeing a change in the fuels across British Columbia. Insects and diseases are able to overwinter successfully, and that’s affecting the fuel.”
Last summer, the Christie Mountain wildfire, discovered on Aug. 18, threatened the City of Penticton, prompting dozens of homes to be evacuated in the Heritage Hills neighbourhood.
One home was destroyed, and the fire burned 2,122.5 hectares of land. The cause of the fire is listed as undetermined.
-With files from Kristi Gordon and Doyle Potenteau
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