A ban on large-scale open burning is about to be imposed on the Cariboo Fire Centre for the next five months following last summer's bout of major forest fires.
Effective Monday, April 23 and lasting until September 29, fires can be no larger than two metres high by three metres wide and no more than two of them can be burning concurrently.
The ban also applies to burning of stubble or grass over an area greater than 0.2 hectares and to burning windrows.
"This prohibition is being implemented due to an increased risk of 'holdover' fires at this time of
year," B.C. Wildfire Service said in a bulletin. "Holdover fires may smoulder undetected for a long time underground, before flaring up as temperatures rise."
This prohibition does not ban campfires, defined as no large than a half-metre high by a half-metre wide, and does not apply to cooking stoves that use gas, propane or briquettes.
The same goes for so-called category two fires - those under two metres high by three metres wide with no more than two burning at one time or the burning of stubble or grass over an area less than 0.2 hectares.
The prohibition applies to all provincial parks, Crown lands and private lands, but does not apply
within the boundaries of a local government that has forest fire prevention bylaws in place and
is serviced by a fire department. Check with local government authorities for any other
restrictions before lighting any fire.
Anyone found in contravention of an open burning 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 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.
To report a wildfire, unattended campfire or open burning violation, call 1 800 663-5555 toll-free or *5555 on a cellphone.
