With hot, dry weather in the forecast for the Victoria Day long weekend, the B.C. Wildfire Service is urging caution when it comes to campfires.
Anyone lighting a campfire must maintain a fireguard by removing flammable debris from around the campfire area, and they must have a hand tool or at least eight litres of water available nearby to properly extinguish the fire.
Firefighters have been kept busy as it is, according to BCWS. Since April 1, they have responded to 48 fires within the Prince George Fire Centre, all of them believed to have been human caused.
"These kinds of wildfires are entirely preventable and divert valuable resources from naturally occurring fires, including those sparked by lightning," BCWS said.
The trouble has been especially notable in the B.C. Peace where unseasonably dry and windy conditions have made forests and grasslands very susceptible to wildfires. Many of the fires in that region originated with open burns that were not properly extinguished.
A ban on so-called category two fires is now in place in the Fort Nelson, Fort St. John and Dawson Creek fire zones. The prohibition applies to piles no larger than two metres high by three metres wide and stubble or grass burning over an area less than 0.2 hectares.
No prohibition is in place for category three or large-scale industrial burning, but a burn registration number must be obtained ahead of time. Likewise, no ban is in place for campfires throughout the Prince George Fire Centre.
The Prince George Fire Centre extends from the Yukon and Northwest Territories in the north to Tweedsmuir Provincial Park, the Cottonwood River and Robson Valley in the south, and from the Alberta border in the east to the Skeena Mountains in the west.
To report a wildfire, unattended campfire or open burning violation, please call 1 800 663-5555 toll-free or *5555 on a cellphone. For up-to-date information on current wildfire activity, burning restrictions, road closures and air quality advisories, call 1 888 3-FOREST or visit: www.bcwildfire.ca
