Campfires banned for the summer in BC

There will be no fireworks in BC on Canada Day.

Campfires and other fire-related activities will be prohibited in BC as the province continues to see record-breaking temperatures.

Beginning at noon on Wednesday, campfires, Category 2 and Category 3 open fires will be prohibited until October 15th or until the order is rescinded.

This comes as the extremely hot weather is expected to be followed by lower-than-average precipitation in Southern areas of BC.

The province defines a campfire as anything smaller than 0.5 meters high and 0.5 meters wide.

Meanwhile, the following Category 2 and Category 3 open fire activities are also prohibited:

• The use of fireworks
• The use of sky lanterns
• The use of burn barrels or burn cages of any size or description
• The use of binary exploding targets
• The use of tiki and similar kinds of torches
• The use of chimineas
• The use of outdoor stoves or other portable campfire apparatus without a Canadian Standards Association (CSA) or Underwriter Laboratories of Canada (ULC) rating
• The use of air curtain burners in Cariboo, Coastal, Northwest, Prince George, and Southeast fire centres

Additional precautions are being undertaken throughout the province, including fire warden patrols, fixed-wing aircraft patrols, and an active enforcement presence.

Anyone found not adhering to the open-burning prohibition may be issued a $1,150 ticket or could face an administrative penalty of up to $10,000.

If the fire leads to a wildfire, the person may be responsible for all firefighting and associated costs.