A long-awaited campfire ban has finally been announced for the Kamloops Fire Centre region.
That region includes the Okanagan, Shuswap and South Thompson, where as of Thursday, July 26 campfires will be prohibited.
The following activities are also prohibited:
- 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 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.
This prohibition applies to all public and private land unless specified otherwise.
According to BC Wildfire Services, the fire danger ratings in the Kamloops Fire Centre are now generally moderate or high, but these ratings will likely increase this week. Hot and dry conditions are expected to continue.
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.
