Season’s first campfire ban coming to B.C.’s Southern Interior

With temperatures soaring, the province is set to implement its first campfire ban of the season.

Effective at noon on Friday, July 12, campfires will be banned in the Kamloops Fire Centre, an area that includes Kamloops, Kelowna, Penticton, Vernon, Princeton Merritt, Lillooet and Clearwater.

Temperatures in B.C.’s Southern Interior are forecast to rise over 40 C by midweek.

The ban will remain in effect until Oct. 11, or until the order is rescinded. Larger Category 2 and Category 3 fires are already prohibited in the area.

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Along with open fires, fireworks, sky lanterns, burn barrels, tiki torches and a variety of other potential sources of ignition are restricted.

The ban doesn’t cover CSA- or ULC-rated stoves of devices for outdoor cooking, heat or ambiance that burn charcoal briquettes, liquid or gaseous fuels and have flames under 15 centimetres.

Anyone caught breaking the ban can be slapped with a ticket for $1,150, be handed an administrative penalty of $10,000, or, if convicted in court, face a $100,000 fine or a year in jail.

If the violation leads to a wildfire, the person responsible can be liable for all firefighting costs.

Provincial campfire bans have yet to be implemented in any other area of B.C., however, Category 2 and Category 3 fires are prohibited provincewide.

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