Effective at noon on Thursday, July 26, 2018, campfires will be prohibited throughout the Kamloops Fire Centre’s jurisdiction.

The BC Wildfire Service is dealing with several large fires in the Kamloops Fire Centre as a result of lightning storms that moved through the Okanagan last week. Hot and dry conditions are expected to continue. The fire danger ratings in the Kamloops Fire Centre are now generally “moderate” or “high”, but these ratings will likely increase this week.

A map of affected areas is available here: http://ow.ly/4Qs830l6oQZ

Prohibited activities will also include the use of:

• fireworks (including firecrackers)
• sky lanterns
• burn barrels or burn cages of any size or description
• binary exploding targets (pre-packaged or homemade explosives, such as Tannerite, Thundershot, Gryphon, Firebird SS65, Sure Shot, or similar products)
• tiki torches and similar kinds of torches
• chimineas, outdoor stoves and other portable campfire apparatuses that are not CSA-approved or ULC-approved                         

These prohibitions apply to all public and private land unless specified otherwise (for example, in a local government bylaw). Please check with local government authorities for any other restrictions before lighting any fire.

These prohibitions do not apply to CSA-rated or ULC-rated cooking stoves that use gas, propane or briquettes, or to a portable campfire apparatus that uses briquettes, liquid or gaseous fuel, so long as the height of the flame is less than 15 centimetres.

Prohibitions on Category 2 and Category 3 open burning remain in effect throughout the Kamloops Fire Centre’s jurisdiction. The campfire prohibition will remain in effect until Oct. 15, 2018, or until the public is otherwise notified.

Anyone found in contravention of an open fire prohibition may be issued a 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.

The Kamloops Fire Centre would like to thank the public for its continuing help in preventing wildfires. To report a wildfire or open burning violation, call 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 B.C. wildfire news:

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