With hot weather scheduled into next week, the Cariboo Fire Centre will be banning all Category 2 and 3 open fires, effective at noon on Wednesday, May 23.
The ban is in response to an increase in fire danger caused by a drying trend throughout the region.
Until the ban goes into effect, the fire centre is urging anyone conducting such burns to use caution.
Read more: Fire danger rating climbing for Cariboo Chilcotin
While campfires will still be allowed – provided they are smaller than 0.5 by 0.5 metres – the ban encompasses the burning of any waste, slash or other materials; stubble or grass fires of any size; the use of burning barrels or burning cages; sky lanterns; fireworks; the use of binary exploding targets and the use of air curtain burners.
Anyone conducting a category 2 open burn in the Cariboo Fire Centre must extinguish it by noon on May 23. Category 3 fires have been banned since April 23.
If you are found burning after the ban goes into effect, the fire centre warns you may be issued a ticket for $1,150, required to pay an administrative penalty of $10,000, or, if convicted in court, fined up to $100,000 and/or sentenced to one year in jail.
Read more: Category 3 fires to be banned in Cariboo starting April 23
