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Kamloops  

Some fires banned across Kamloops Fire Centre starting next month: BCWS

Open burning ban coming

Effective at noon on May 3, Category 3 open fires will be prohibited throughout the Kamloops Fire Centre — a vast area stretching from the U.S. border to the North Thompson.

The prohibition is being brought in to help prevent human-caused wildfires and protect public safety and will remain in effect until noon Oct. 11, or until the order is rescinded.

Anyone conducting Category 3 open fires within the Kamloops Fire Centre’s jurisdiction must extinguish those fires by the deadline.

A Category 3 open fire is an open fire that burns:
• material concurrently in three or more piles each not exceeding two metres in height and three metres in width,
• material in one or more piles each exceeding two metres in height or three metres in width,
• one or more windrows, each not exceeding 200 metres in length or 15 metres in width, or
• stubble or grass over an area exceeding 0.2 ha.

These prohibitions apply to all public and private land within the Kamloops Fire Centre, unless specified otherwise in an enactment such as a local government bylaw.

Before lighting any fire, people should check with local government authorities to see if any other burning restrictions are in effect.

Anyone found in contravention of an open-burning prohibition may be issued a ticket for $1,150, required to pay an administrative penalty of up to $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.

This prohibition does not include Category 1 campfires or Category 2 open fires. More information on the types of open burning can be found here.

To report a wildfire, unattended campfire or open burning violation, call 1-800-663-5555 toll-free or *5555 on a cell phone.

For up-to-date information on current wildfire activity, burning restrictions, road closures and air quality advisories, call 1-888-3-FOREST or click here.



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