Campers and other outdoor enthusiasts are being asked to be careful while out in the bush and take steps to avoid setting wildfires.
On average, about 40 per cent of wildfires that erupt each year in B.C. are human caused.
The hot and dry conditions have persisted in many areas of the province over the past two months and are expected to continue over the long weekend and well into August - and possibly September as well.
Open burning - defined as fires larger than a campfire - remains prohibited on Crown and private lands throughout the province that are within the B.C. Wildfire Service's jurisdiction. And campfires can be no larger than a half-metre wide by a half-metre tall.
Also, do not light a campfire or keep it burning in windy conditions, maintain a fuel-free one-metre fireguard around the campfire, never leave it unattended and have a shovel or at least eight litres of water on hand to properly extinguish your campfire.
Anyone operating motorized vehicles in the backcountry must also use caution, since the heat from an exhaust pipe - particularly in tall, dry grass - could ignite a wildfire.
Anyone found in contravention of an open burning prohibition may be issued a ticket for $345, required to pay an administrative penalty of $10,000 or, if convicted in court, fined up to $100,000 and a 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.
Detailed information about current burning restrictions and campfire bans is available on the BC Wildfire Service website:
pgc.cc/1M0zbFO
To report a wildfire, unattended campfire or open burning violation, call 1-800-663-5555 toll-free or *5555 on a cellphone.
