By Don Urquhart, Times Chronicle
The Kamloops Fire Centre, which also covers the South Okanagan, will move to a Category 2 open fire ban effective noon on Friday, June 13 to help prevent human-caused wildfires according to the BC Wildfire Service. The region is currently under a Category 3 open fire ban.
Camp fires (Category 1) of no larger than 0.5 metres high by 0.5 metres wide and used for recreational purposes or by a First Nation for ceremonial purposes are still currently permitted.
Fireworks and other activities under the Category 2 ban are not permitted as of noon, June 13.
Category 2 open fires – banned as of June 13 – are defined as:
- burns material in one pile not exceeding 2 metres in height and 3 metres in width,
- burns material concurrently in two piles each not exceeding 2 metres in height and 3 metres in width, or
- burns stubble or grass over an area that does not exceed 0.2 hectare.
Also included in the Category 2 ban are:
- air curtain burners;
- carbonizers;
- binary exploding targets;
- fireworks, as defined in the Fireworks Act of BC;
- burn barrels or burn cages of any size or description, except when used for a Category 1 campfire as defined in the Wildfire Regulation, and;
- controlled air incinerators.
Anyone conducting Category 2 open fires within the Kamloops Fire Centre’s jurisdiction must extinguish those fires by the 12 noon on June 13, 2025 deadline.
Map of the Kamloops Fire Centre region.
BC Wildfire Service image
The BCWS notes that while municipalities often follow BC Wildfire Service prohibitions, they may also impose different prohibitions based on conditions in their local area.
Anyone found in contravention of an open burning prohibition may be issued a ticket for $1,150, required to pay an administrative penalty of up to $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.
To report a wildfire, unattended campfire or open burning violation, call 1-800-663-5555 toll-free, *5555 on a cell phone or via the BCWS smartphone app.
