The BC Wildfire Service is urging individuals to respect the campfire ban after dozens of them were reported in the Coastal Fire Centre over the past several days.
Campfires have been banned everywhere in B.C. except for the Northwest Fire Centre and Haida Gwaii since June due to the dry weather and increasing fire activity. That includes the Coastal Fire Centre, where the Mt. Hayes wildfire recently sparked fear in Ladysmith residents on Vancouver Island.
Overall, B.C. has had 1,555 fires so far this year and while the majority have been in the Kamloops and Southeast Fire Centres, the Coastal Fire Centre has had 197 so far.
“The fire danger in many parts of the centre is still high or extreme, meaning that fires can start easily and spread more quickly than under normal conditions,” the BC Wildfire said in a social media post.
“Beyond the direct damage that can be done by an escaped campfire, preventable wildfires on the Coast divert resources that would otherwise be used to support harder hit communities in the Interior.”
The Coastal Fire Centre & our partners in the Conservation Officer Service have received dozens of reports of campfires within the Coastal Fire Centre area over the last several days. While temperatures are beginning to drop, the campfire ban remains in effect for all areas of… pic.twitter.com/whVoyn0lCI
— BC Wildfire Service (@BCGovFireInfo) August 24, 2021
Tens of thousands of people have been put on evacuation order or alert and in late June, the entire community of Lytton burned to the ground.
PHOTOS: Before and after the blaze that destroyed the Village of Lytton
The fire for violating the campfire ban is $1,150, payable by everyone around the blaze. If the campfire starts a forest fire, the fine can go as high as $100,000 to $1 million and result in a one-year prison sentence.
