Courtesy of the BC Wildfire Service/Cariboo Fire Centre:
The
Cariboo Fire Centre is urging the public to be extremely cautious and
to not engage in any activity that could cause a wildfire. The fire centre
is currently experiencing a very high level of wildfire activity and the fire
danger rating remains high to extreme across the fire centre.
The dryness
and extreme heat experienced across the province because of the
historic heatwave in June have raised fire dangers to critical
levels. These persistent hot and dry conditions, alongside daily lightning
events have produced an average of 45 ignitions per day between July 6 and
July 13 provincially. These conditions are currently challenging available
firefighting resources within British Columbia. National and international
resources that would normally help are unable to assist due
to their own wildfire situations and due to global
travel restrictions associated with the
COVID-19 pandemic. Procuring additional domestic and international
firefighting resources remains a focus for the BC Wildfire Service.
Campfires, Category 2 and
Category 3 open fires are prohibited across British Columbia. This
ban also includes fireworks, skylanterns, burn barrels or burn cages,
binary exploding targets, tiki and similar kinds of torches,
chimineas, and outdoor stoves or other portable campfire apparatus
(unless CLA or ULC rated). Air curtain burners are also prohibited
in the Cariboo Fire Centre.
At this time, the BC Wildfire Service
has not implemented any backcountry closures. All trails and
backroads that are not affected by Area Restriction Orders, Evacuation Orders,
or are otherwise under municipal jurisdiction or BC Parks jurisdiction,
remain open for public use. Several provincial parks within the
Cariboo region are under alert or closure due to wildfires. Please refer
to BC
Parks for more information on current park closures.
Know before you go: check the local
fire danger rating, download the BC Wildfire Service app and stay up
to date with location-specific wildfire information. If conditions reach an
unacceptable risk level, a backcountry restriction will be considered.
Members of the public must remain
vigilant and act responsibly when recreating in the backcountry. If you
ride an ATV, keep it away from dry areas and make sure that a spark arrestor
device is installed, as required by law. If you’re a smoker, always fully
extinguish your cigarette and dispose of it responsibly. Never throw it out of
a vehicle window.
Human-caused wildfires are completely
preventable and divert critical resources away from lightning-caused fires. Always practice safe, responsible fire use where
permitted.
·
To report a
wildfire, unattended campfire or open burning violation, call 1 800 663-5555
toll-free or *5555 on a cell phone.
·
Anyone found in
contravention of an open-burning prohibition may be issued a violation ticket
for $1,150, may be required to pay an administrative penalty of up to $10,000
or, if convicted in court, may be 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.
Learn More:
People
can follow the latest wildfire news:
·
on the free BC
Wildfire Service public mobile app, available for Apple (iOS) and Android
devices
·
on Twitter: twitter.com/BCGovFireInfo
·
on Facebook: facebook.com/BCForestFireInfo
No comments:
Post a Comment