Prince George, B.C. – “Out of an  abundance of caution,   we are going to be implementing an open burning ban within the City” says Prince George Fire Rescue Chief John Iverson.

The  ban  follows  an earlier decision by  the  Prince George Fire Centre to  prohibit all  open  burning within the  Prince George Fire Centre.  That prohibition  covers all areas  outside  City limits.   The decision by Prince George Fire Rescue  is in addition to that  PG Fire Centre ban.

Within City Limits,  the only kind of open burning that is permitted under  bylaw is  recreational,  such  as a backyard fire pit.

Chief Iverson says while  the  fire conditions  within City limits  have been “pretty good”  but adds, there has been a “slight increase  in some of our wildfire type calls, which is  very typical of warmer weather. But we were on the tail end of  a pretty significant lighting storm… It didn’t  affect us too much, but we  certainly did have a little bit of a spike.”

The official notice of the  recreational fire ban  within City limits  will be issued  later this afternoon,  and will take effect immediately and be in place until further notice.