Local campfire ban in effect

With much of the southern part of the province in an unprecedented heat wave, a local campfire ban has come into effect preceding a similar provincial ban set to begin later this week.

The combination of a ‘high’ fire danger rating and a category two and three fire ban already in effect with a campfire ban issued today, set to begin June 30 at noon until Oct 15 by the provincial government, is the perfect recipe to resort to such measures.

The local ban will be in effect until further notice according to Joss Advocaat, Sun Peaks Fire Rescue (SPFR) training officer, and was put in place less than a week after campfires were allowed by permit only.

While the fire danger rating for the Sun Peaks area hasn’t changed since and remains at ‘high’, Advocaat said the local ban on campfires is necessary and doesn’t foresee the fire danger decreasing, or a lifting of the ban, anytime soon because of the provincially mandated ban.

Those in violation of the bylaw will be subject to a $200 fine plus cost recovery if fire suppression efforts are required by SPFR.

While campfires are still technically allowed on Crown land until June 30 since the provincial ban currently only covers category two fires which are fires two metres by three metres in size, and category three fires (classified as large industrial fires), Advocaat warned campfire users to remain vigilant.

“I just encourage people to be careful if they do choose to have a fire. Make sure there is a firebreak around the fire and they are sticking to a half metre by half metre [in size] and to keep eight litres of water on hand to put out the fire.”