B.C. has moved to ban open fires across the province as temperatures soar.
Effective at noon on Wednesday, campfires, Category 2 and Category 3 open fires will be prohibited until Oct. 15, 2021, or until the order is rescinded.
“The provincial weather forecast calls for record-breaking high temperatures throughout B.C. this week and follows a spring of lower-than-average precipitation in the southern half of the province,” says a government news release. “These conditions are expected to persist in the coming weeks. Camping is a long-standing tradition in this province. The B.C. government recognizes that people also enjoy having campfires, so it takes any decision to implement a campfire ban very seriously.”
A campfire is defined as any fire smaller than 0.5 metres high by 0.5 metres wide.
In addition to campfires, Category 2, and Category 3 open fires, the following 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
To report a wildfire, unattended campfire, or open burning violation, call 1 800 663-5555 toll-free or *5555 on a cell phone.
Anyone found in contravention of an open-burning prohibition may be issued a violation ticket for $1,150, may be required to pay an administrative penalty of up to $10,000 or, if convicted in court, may be 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.
