Effective at noon on Thursday, June 16, 2016, Category 2 open fires will once again be allowed throughout the Cariboo Fire Centre’s jurisdiction, due to a decreased wildfire risk in the region.

Campfires also are allowed, but larger Category 3 open fires remain prohibited.

Category 2 fires are fires that burn material in piles smaller than two metres high and three metres wide, with no more than two piles at a time, or stubble or grass over an area smaller than 2,000 square metres. A poster explaining the different categories of open burning is available online: http://ow.ly/jdO5301kS32

The Cariboo Fire Centre stretches from Loon Lake near Clinton in the south to the Cottonwood River near Quesnel in the north and from Tweedsmuir Provincial Park in the west to Wells Gray Provincial Park in the east. A map of the affected area is available at: http://ow.ly/llvq301kSeg

Category 2 fires and campfires may be prohibited on short notice this summer if the wildfire risk in the Cariboo Fire Centre increases. For up-to-date information on current wildfire activity and open burning restrictions, call 1 888 3-FOREST or visit: www.bcwildfire.ca

Anyone planning to light any allowed fire should take the following precautions:

• Ensure that enough people, water and tools are on hand to control the fire and to prevent it from escaping.
• Do not burn in windy conditions. The weather can change quickly and the wind may carry embers to other combustible material and start new fires.
• Create a fireguard of at least one metre around the planned fire site by clearing away twigs, grass, leaves and other combustible material.
• Never leave a fire unattended.
• Make sure that the fire is completely extinguished and the ashes are cold to the touch before leaving the area for any length of time. If a fire is not fully extinguished, it can reignite when conditions become hot and dry again.

Anyone who lights, fuels or makes use of a Category 2 open fire must comply with the Environmental Management Act and the open burning smoke control regulation. The Environmental Management Act requires individuals to check local venting conditions prior to lighting a Category 2 fire.

Local venting conditions can be found calling 1 888 281-2992 or by visiting: www.bcairquality.ca
A burn registration number is not required for a Category 2 open fire.

The rescinding of the Category 2 open fire prohibition in the Cariboo Fire Centre applies to all BC Parks, Crown lands and private lands, but does not apply within the boundaries of a local government that has forest fire prevention bylaws and is serviced by a fire department. Please check with local authorities for any other open burning restrictions before lighting any fire.

Anyone found in contravention of an open burning prohibition may be issued a violation ticket for $1,150, required to pay an administrative penalty of $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.

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

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