Effective at noon PDT on Thursday, Sept. 20, all open fires and fireworks will be prohibited throughout the Prince George Fire Centre, with the exception of the Prince George Forest District east of Highway 97 and the Fort Nelson Forest District.

A map of the affected areas is available online at: http://bit.ly/QD0CFy

This prohibition will remain in place until Oct. 31, 2012 or until the public is otherwise notified.

Specifically, this prohibition applies to:

• The burning of any waste, slash or other material.
• The burning of stubble or grass.
• The use of fireworks or burning barrels of any size or description.

The ban does not prohibit campfires that are a half-metre high by a half-metre wide or smaller, or apply to cooking stoves that use gas, propane or briquettes. Anyone lighting a campfire must maintain a fireguard by removing flammable material from around the campfire area and must have a hand tool or at least eight litres of water available nearby to properly extinguish the fire.

This prohibition covers all BC Parks, Crown lands and private lands, but does not apply within the boundaries of local governments that have forest fire prevention bylaws and are serviced by fire departments. Please check with civic authorities for any current restrictions before lighting any fire.

Anyone found in contravention of an open fire prohibition may be fined $345 or, if convicted in court, be fined up to $100,000 and sentenced to one year in jail. If the contravention 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 fire fighting and associated costs.

Crews from the Prince George Fire Centre have responded to 364 wildfires since April 1, 2012, 134 of which were caused by humans. These fires have burned a total of 44,576 hectares.

The Prince George Fire Centre extends from the Yukon and Northwest Territories borders in the north to Tweedsmuir Provincial Park, Cottonwood River and Robson Valley in the south, and from the Alberta border in the east to the Skeena Mountains in the west.

Report a wildfire or unattended campfire by calling 1 800 663-5555 toll-free or *5555 on a cellphone.

For the latest information on current wildfire activity, burning restrictions, road closures and air quality advisories, go to: http://www.bcwildfire.ca

You can also follow the latest wildfire news -

On Twitter at: http://twitter.com/BCGovFireInfo

On Facebook at: http://facebook.com/BCForestFireInfo

Media Contact:

Lindsay Carnes
Fire Information Officer
Wildfire Management Branch
Prince George Fire Centre
250 565-6129
lindsay.carnes@gov.bc.ca