The Northwest Fire Centre has announced Burn Bans will be going into effect at Noon on Friday in the Bulkley and Nadina fire zones, which includes the Nadina Forest District and the Skeena portion of the Skeena Stikine Forest District.
Category 2 and Category 3 open fires currently burning must be extinguished by noon this coming Friday in these regions, and will be prohibited until further notice.
The use of Fireworks, binary exploding targets, burn barrels or cages, controlled air incinerators, air curtain burners, and carbonizers is also prohibited under the ban. It does not include category 1 campfires, which are still permitted.
Fire ban bulletin released by the BC Wildfire Service for the Northwest Fire Centre // Courtesy: BC Wildfire Service
The Northwest Fire Centre has also asked those who conducted a category 3 burn last fall or winter to check their burn sites and ensure their burns are fully extinguished.
Authorities have stressed as wildfire season begins, that as per the wildfire act, if a fire you start contributes to a wildfire you will be on the hook for the cost of the firefighting effort. You could also even be fined up to a millions dollars and face the possibility of up to 3 years in jail.
The penalty for breaching a burn ban includes an $1,150 ticket, an administrative penalty of $10,000, and potentially more serious fines of up to $100,000 and even one year in jail if sentenced in court.
Comments