The BC Wildfire Service is seeing a downward trend in fire activity across the province, with places like the Cariboo Fire Centre and Prince George Fire Centre (PGFC) seeing the number of wildfires of note drop.
“We haven’t seen any new starts in the past 24 hours. And continuing to see that downturn in new starts we’ve only had three over the past seven days,” said Sharon Nickel with the PGFC.
Nickel said campfires are allowed in the entire PGFC, as well as the Northwest Fire Centre, the Cariboo Fire Centre, most of the Southeast Fire Centre, and part of the Coastal Fire Centre.
“The fire danger ratings do remain quite low to moderate across our entire fire centre. While campfires are permitted, along with tiki torches or other kinds of similar torches, and all camp stoves, portable campfire apparatus, it’s still important to abide by regulations and exercise caution with the use of fire.”
She said campfires are defined as fires smaller than a half metre in size.
“Regulations state that you must have ready access to either eight litres of water or hand tools, such as a shovel, at all times while a campfire is lit. It is also important to establish a debris-free zone and build a fireguard around your campfire,” said Nickel.
Nickel added that anyone caught with an unattended fire, or not meeting regulations could receive a fine of up to $1,150.
If your fire escapes and causes a wildfire, that fine could rise anywhere from $100,000 to $1 million, with added jail time.
There are 234 active wildfires across BC:
- 51 are in the Prince George Fire Centre, with the Cutoff Creek blaze of note.
- 5 are in the Northwest Fire Centre.
- 25 are in the Cariboo Fire Centre, with the Flat Lake blaze of note.
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