Effective at noon on Monday, April 15, open burning will be prohibited across the entire Cariboo Fire Centre to help prevent person-caused wildfires and to protect the public.

Since March 31, Cariboo Fire Centre crews have responded to six wildfire incidents. All of these fires were caused by people and were therefore preventable.

Anyone conducting Category 2 or 3 fires must extinguish any such fires by noon on April 15. This prohibition will remain in place until Sept. 30, 2013 or until the public is informed otherwise.

A map of the affected areas is available online at: http://bcwildfire.ca/ftp/!Project/WildfireNews/452013~101859_CFC%20PROHIBITION%20MAP.pdf

Specifically, this open fire prohibition applies to:

• the burning of any waste, slash or other material

• the burning of stubble or grass

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.

This prohibition applies to all B.C. parks, Crown lands and private lands, but does not apply within the boundaries of a local government that has forest fire prevention bylaws in place and is serviced by a fire department. Before lighting any fire, residents should check with local civic authorities regarding any current prohibitions.

The Cariboo Fire Centre covers an area of about 10.3 million hectares, stretching from Clinton north to the Cottonwood River, east to Wells Gray Provincial Park, and west to Tweedsmuir Provincial Park.

Anyone found in contravention of an open fire prohibition may be issued a ticket for $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 firefighting and associated costs.

To report a wildfire or noncompliant open burning, call 1 800 663-5555 toll-free or dial *5555 on a cellphone.

For the latest information on fire activity, conditions and prohibitions, visit the Wildfire Management Branch website: www.bcwildfire.ca

You can follow the latest wildfire news -

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

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

Media Contact:

Greig Bethel
Fire Information Officer
Wildfire Management Branch
Cariboo Fire Centre
250 989-2665