Should the open burning ban for the southern Interior include camp fires?

Photo: BCWS

The BC Wildfire Service has issued burning restrictions in the Kamloops and Southeast fire centres as dry and hot conditions continue.

As of noon Thursday, category 2 and 3 fires will no longer be allowed.

The prohibition refers to the following activities:

Category 2 open fire, which means an open fire, other than a campfire that:

• burns material in one pile not exceeding two metres in height and three metres in width,

• burns material concurrently in two piles each not exceeding two metres in height, three metres in width, or

• burns stubble or grass over an area that does not exceed 0.2 hectares

Category 3 open fire, which means an open fire that burns:

• material concurrently in at least 3 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,

• stubble or grass over an area exceeding 0.2 hectares

Also prohibited are fireworks, sky lanterns, binary exploding targets, burn barrels or burn cages of any size or description, and air curtain burners.

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 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.

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