Fire prohibitions start today

Beginning at noon today (May 15), a restriction will be placed on the size of open fires in the Kamloops Fire Centre.

Photo: Trevor Rockliffe

This prohibition will apply to all areas of the Kamloops Fire Centre except for the Clearwater and Salmon Arm fire zones, which will be subject to the ban on June 15 when all open burning is prohibited in the area until Oct. 15.

This prohibition does not ban campfires that are a half-metre high by a half-metre wide (or smaller) and does not apply to cooking stoves that use gas, propane or briquettes.

However the following activities will not be allowed:

• The burning of any waste, slash or other materials.
• The burning of more than one open fire of any size at the same time.
• The burning of recreational and ceremonial fires that exceed the size specified for campfires (0.5 m x 0.5 m).
• Stubble or grass fires of any size over any area.
• The use of fireworks, sky lanterns or burning barrels of any size or description.

Anyone found to be disobeying this prohibition may be issued a ticket for $345, or, if convicted in court, be fined up to $100,000 and sentenced to one year in jail. If the illegal burn causes or contributes to a wildfire, the person may be subject to a penalty of up to $10,000 and be ordered to pay all firefighting and associated costs.

The Kamloops Fire Centre stretches from the northern border of Wells Gray Park near Blue River to the U.S. border to the south, and from the Bridge River Glacier west of Gold Bridge to the Monashee Mountains east of Lumby.

They have already responded to 43 human-caused wildfires since April 1 – the largest of which grew to 1,400 hectares in size.