Starting noon Friday, June 22 any open burns bigger than a campfire will be banned within the Kamloops Fire Centre’s jurisdiction to help stop manmade wildfires and protect the public.
Anyone doing Category 2 or Category 3 open burns at elevations higher than 1,200 m, which are not allowed inside the Kamloops Fire Centre, must put those fires out by 12 p.m. Friday, 22.
These kinds of open burns are already banned at elevations below 1,200 m.
The prohibition will stay in effect until Oct. 15 or until the public is otherwise notified.
A map of the affected areas is available at http://ow.ly/cuRN30kBP70
The prohibition doesn’t ban campfires a half-metre high by a half-meter wide, or smaller, and also doesn’t apply to cooking stoves using gas, propane or briquettes.
Other activities not allowed under the ban are fireworks, sky lanterns, burn barrels or burn cages of any size or description, binary exploding targets (pre-packaged or homemade explosives like Tannerit, Thundershot, Gryphon, Firebird SS65, Sure Shot or similar products), tiki torches or similar types of torches.
This prohibition applies to all public and private land unless otherwise specified, for example, in a local government bylaw.
Anybody found breaching an open fire prohibition may be given a ticket for $1,150, made to pay an administrative penalty of $10,000 or, if convicted in court, fined up to $100,000 and/or sentenced to a year in jail.
If the breach causes or contributes to a wildfire, the person may be ordered to pay all fire fighting and associated costs.
newsroom@clearwatertimes.com
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