Office of the Premier
KAMLOOPS - Effective at 12 noon Friday, Aug. 12, 2011, all open burning, including campfires and fireworks, will be prohibited across the Merritt and Lillooet fire zones within the Kamloops Fire Centre to help prevent human-caused wildfires and protect public safety.
The fire danger rating is currently high to extreme in the Lillooet and Merritt zones, making campfires a concern. Since April 1, Kamloops Fire Centre crews have responded to 36 campfire-related incidents. Ninety out of 114 wildfires this season have been human-caused.
The ban applies to open fires of any size, including campfires, fires with a burn registration number and industrial burning, fireworks, tiki torches and burning barrels.
The ban does not apply to cooking stoves that use gas, propane or briquettes, or to portable campfire apparatus with a CSA or ULC rating using briquettes, liquid or gaseous fuel, as long as the flame is kept under 15 centimetres.
The boundaries of the prohibition are as follows:
- The Lillooet Fire Zone extends from the Bridge River Glacier west of Goldbridge east to Spences Bridge, and from French Bar Creek north of the Yalakom Valley to 22 km south of Lytton.
- The Merritt Fire Zone extends from Spences Bridge east to Hedley, and from 11 km north of Nicola Lake to the U.S. border in the south (east of Manning Park to west of the Border Lake Trail).
This area captures many communities - including Lillooet, Merritt, Princeton, Lower Nicola, Tulameen, Lytton, Goldbridge, Seton Portage and Pavilion. More details about the restriction boundaries are available at: http://bcwildfire.ca/hprScripts/WildfireNews/Bans.asp
The ban covers all BC Parks, Crown and private lands, but does not apply within the boundaries of local governments that have forest fire prevention bylaws and are serviced by a fire department. Please check with local governments for any restrictions before lighting a fire.
Anyone found in violation of an open fire ban, including campfires, may be issued a ticket for $345. Should a wildfire occur as a result of recklessness, a person can be fined up to $1 million or spend three years in prison and be ordered to pay all firefighting and associated costs.
The ban will be in place until Sept. 30, 2011, or until the public is otherwise notified. In addition, there will be increased Fire Warden patrols throughout the Kamloops Fire Centre.
For the latest information on current wildfire activity, burning restrictions, road closures and air quality advisories, go to: http://www.bcforestfireinfo.gov.bc.ca
You can also follow the latest wildfire news -
On Twitter at: http://twitter.com/#!/BCGovFireInfo
On Facebook at: http://facebook.com/BCForestFireInfo
Contacts:
Kayla Pepper
Fire Information Officer
250 554-5530 (office)
250 318-6959 (cell)
Kevin Skrepnek
Fire Information Officer
250 554-5964 (office)
250 318-7456 (cell)
