Effective at noon on May 15, 2018, the size of open fires will be restricted at elevations below 1,200 metres throughout the Kamloops Fire Centre to help prevent human-caused wildfires and protect the public.

The Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development will be presenting a series of information sessions and displays about how individuals and communities can prepare for and recover from wildfires.

The new allowable annual cut for the Fort St. John Timber Supply Area (TSA) will remain at 2,115,000 cubic metres, chief forester Diane Nicholls announced today.

Members of the Stellat’en First Nation now have an enhanced voice in local forest stewardship and greater opportunity for economic development through a forestry agreement signed with the Province, moving British Columbia and the Stellat’en further down the path of reconciliation.

The public is advised that the Exstew River recreation site, located 42 kilometres west of Terrace on Highway 16, will be closed to recreational users between Tuesday, May 15, and Wednesday, May 23, 2018.

The BC Wildfire Service is planning to conduct an 11-hectare prescribed burn in the Hope Creek area as early as Tuesday, May 8, 2018, to help reduce wildfire threats and prepare the area for replanting.

Bruce Larson, Tara Marsden and Rick Monchak have been appointed to the Forest Practices Board for two-year terms, Doug Donaldson, Minister of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development, has announced.

The Government of British Columbia has contributed $500,000 to the Forestry Service Providers Compensation Fund to protect eligible forestry and silviculture contractors, and service providers, in the event of licensee insolvency.

Effective at noon on Saturday, May 5, 2018, Category 2 open fires and the use of fireworks will be prohibited within the Dawson Creek, Fort St. John and Fort Nelson fire zones.