Campfire ban coming for Cariboo Fire Centre region

Effective noon on Tuesday, July 31, 2018, campfires will be prohibited throughout the Cariboo Fire Centre’s jurisdiction to help prevent human-caused wildfires and protect public safety.

The campfire prohibition will remain in effect until Sept. 29, 2018, or until the public is otherwise notified.

The Cariboo Fire Centre is experiencing hot and dry weather. Although thundershowers are expected, temperatures are forecasted to remain warm. The fire danger rating in this region is generally “high”, with some pockets of “moderate” and “extreme.”

Specifically, prohibited activities will include:

• an open fire of any size
• stubble or grass burning of any size
• the use of tiki torches and chimineas
• the use of fireworks, including firecrackers
• the use of sky lanterns, burning barrels or burning cages of any size or description
• the use of binary exploding targets (e.g., for target practice)
• the use of air curtain burners (forced-air burning systems)

These prohibitions apply to all public and private land unless specified otherwise (e.g., in a local government bylaw). Please check with local government authorities for any other restrictions before lighting any fire.

These prohibitions do not apply to CSA-rated or ULC-rated cooking stoves that use gas, propane or briquettes, or to a portable campfire apparatus that uses briquettes, liquid or gaseous fuel, as long as the height of the flame is less than 15 centimetres.

Prohibitions on Category 2 and Category 3 open burning remain in effect throughout the Cariboo Fire Centre’s jurisdiction.

Anyone found in contravention of an open fire prohibition may be issued a ticket for $1,150, required to pay an administrative penalty of $10,000 or, if convicted in court, fined up to $100,000 and/or sentenced to one year in jail. If the contravention causes or contributes to a wildfire, the person responsible may be ordered to pay all firefighting and associated costs.

The Cariboo Fire Centre stretches from Loon Lake near Clinton in the south to the Cottonwood River near Quesnel in the north, and from Tweedsmuir Provincial Park in the west to Wells Gray Provincial Park in the east.

– With files from George Henderson