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Campfire ban over southeast BC to be lifted

The ban will be lifted at 12 noon PDT on September 2
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Campfire. (Phil McLachlan - Black Press Media - File)

From 12 noon PDT on Friday September 2, campfires will be permitted within the Southeast Fire Centre.

In a release on August 31, the BC Wildfire Service reported that the ban put in place on August 4 was being rescinded due to more favorable conditions, with cooler temperatures and rainfall in the region over the last week.

Campfires must be smaller than 0.5 metres wide and 0.5 metres high, with all fires larger than that (category 2 and 3 open fires) still banned.

Also still banned are sky lanterns, fireworks, air curtain burners, burn barrels and burn cages and exploding targets.

“So far in the 2022 fire season, 92 percent of the wildfires reported in the Southeast have been naturally caused,” reads the release.

“The BC Wildfire Service takes several factors into account before rescinding its open burning prohibitions. This includes balancing the needs of the public with the need to mitigate the risk of human-caused wildfires. The combination of shorter days, better overnight recoveries, and cumulative rainfall has reduced the need to prohibit campfires in the Southeast.”

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.

READ MORE: Campfire ban announced in the Kootenays as fire dangers reach ‘extreme’ (from August 4 2022)



scott.tibballs@thefreepress.ca
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