BC Wildfire Service bans category 1 fires in areas of Prince George Fire Centre

FORT NELSON, B.C. — As of noon on Thursday, category one fires will be prohibited across the Prince George Fire Centre’s Vanderhoof, Fort St. James, Mackenzie and Fort Nelson fire zones.

Category one campfires are defined as a fire no larger than 0.5 metres high and 0.5 metres wide.

In addition to a ban on any open fire, the following is also prohibited:

• The use of tiki and similar kinds of torches;
• The use of chimineas;
• The use of outdoor stoves or other portable campfire apparatus without a CSA or ULC rating;
• The use of fireworks and sky lanterns;
• The use of burn barrels or burn cages of any size;
• The use of binary exploding targets or air curtain burners.

BCWS says that only CSA-rated or ULC-rated outdoor stoves or portable campfire apparatuses that use gas, propane or briquettes can be used during this prohibition.

Category 2 and 3 open fires are still banned in the rest of the Prince George Fire Centre.

Category 2 refers to fires in a pile exceeding two metres in height and three metres in width and stubble or grass over an area that doesn’t exceed 0.2 hectares.

Category 3 burns are fires that are half-metre high by half-metre wide (or smaller), cooking stoves that use gas, propane or briquettes.

Anyone found violating the prohibition may be issued a violation ticket for $1,150, be required to pay an administrative penalty of up to $10,000, or, if convicted in court, may be fined up to $100,000, with a possible jail sentence of one year.

If the violation causes or contributes to a wildfire, the person responsible may be ordered to pay all associated costs with fighting the fire.

BCWS says human-caused wildfires are completely preventable and divert resources away from naturally caused wildfires.

In the Prince George Fire Centre, there are currently 58 active wildfires.

For updates on wildfires, visit BCWS’ website.