The Category 3 fire ban in effect as of noon today (April 23) for the Cariboo Fire Centre has been expanded to include the Tsilhqot’in Declared Title Area in Xeni Gwet’in.
The open burning prohibition is being implemented in co-operation with the Tsilhqot’in National Government and the community community of Xeni Gwet’in, said a release from the BC Wildfire Service.
The ban is “intended to help prevent human-caused wildfires and protect public safety,” stated the release.
Read more: TNG sign tripartite emergency management agreement with province and Canada
Category 3 open fires include any fires larger than two metres high by three metres wide, three or more concurrently burning piles, one or more burning windrow, or burning stubble or grass over an area greater than 0.2 hectares.
The prohibition does not include campfires that are under a half-metre wide or tall, and does not apply to cooking stoves.
Category 2 fires, those that are two metres high by three metres wide, or burning grass over an area less than 0.2 metres are also not included in the ban.
Anyone found burning a Category 3 open fire, may be issued a ticket for $1,150, required to pay an administrative penalty of $10,000 or, if convicted in court, may be fined up to $100,000 and/or sentenced to a year in jail, according to the fire centre.
If the fire causes a wildfire, the centre says 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 or *5555 on a cellphone.
Read more: Category 3 fires to be banned in Cariboo Fire Centre starting April 23