Prince George, B.C. – It won’t be long until the weather heats up in the Prince George Fire Centre again.

According to Environment Canada a warm and drying trend will start Thursday and carry on through the weekend.

As a result, the Prince George Fire Centre is reminding the public that Category 2 open fires are still prohibited throughout the entire centre.

Category 3 fires are allowed in the Prince George, Vanderhoof, Fort St. James, and Mackenzie natural resource districts but are prohibited in the Dawson Creek, Fort St John, and Fort Nelson Fire natural resource districts.

Category 2 fires apply to:

• The burning of any waste, slash or other materials
• Stubble or grass fires over an area less than 2,000 square metres.
• Fireworks, tiki torches, sky lanterns.
• The use of stoves and other portable campfire apparatuses that are not CSA/ULC approved.

These prohibitions do not ban campfires that are half-metre high by a half-metre wide or smaller, or apply to cooking stoves that use gas, propane or briquettes.

If you do light a campfire, the BC Wildfire Service reminds you to maintain a fireguard by removing flammable debris from the campfire area. In addition, don’t leave a campfire unattended and you must have a hand tool or at least eight litres of water available nearby to properly extinguish the fire before leaving the area for any length of time.

Anyone found to violate a fire prohibition may be fined $1,150. if convicted in court, the person may be fined up to $100,000 and sentenced to one year in jail.

If the contravention contributes to a wildfire the person may be subject to a penalty of up to $10,000 and be ordered to pay all firefighting associated costs.