Williams Lake, B.C. – Starting today at noon campfires will be banned in parts of the Cariboo Fire Centre to help prevent human-caused wildfires and ensure public safety.

The prohibitions will take place in the Cariboo-Chilcotin Forest District west of the Fraser River and throughout Itcha Ilgachuz Provincial Park. The ban includes the use of tiki torches and chimeneas in these areas.

The use of campfires, tiki torches and chimineas will still be allowed in the rest of the Cariboo Fire Centre. To see a map of the affected areas, click here.

“The Cariboo Fire Centre is currently experiencing dry conditions and elevated fire danger ratings,” says fire information officer Natasha Broznitsky. “The fire danger ratings are generally “high” to “extreme”, with a small pocket of “moderate” in the far northeast corner of the fire centre.”

Category 2 and Category 3 open burns are already prohibited throughout the Cariboo Fire Centre and as of noon today the use of air curtain burns will also be banned.

These prohibitions do not apply to cooking stoves that use gas, propane or briquettes, or to a portable campfire apparatus with a CSA or ULC rating that uses briquettes, liquid or gaseous fuel, so long as the height of the flame is less than 15 centimetres.

Anyone found violating an open burning ban 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.