Category 3 added to fire bans for northeast B.C. as of Thursday

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — Category 2 and Category 3 open fires will be banned across the Prince George Fire Centre as of Thursday at noon.

The ban will remain in place until October 15th or until the order is rescinded.

The order applies to the following districts: the Prince George Forest District, the Stuart Nechako Forest District, the Mackenzie Forest District, the Peace Forest District, and the Fort Nelson Forest District.

The upcoming prohibition is in addition to the Category 2 fire ban that went into effect for northeast B.C. on Friday, May 4th.

According to the fire centre, the ban is due to the high grass fire hazard and increased incidence of human-caused wildfires associated with Category 2 and Category 3 burning. Most of the wildfires in the Peace region over the past couple of weeks are believed to be human-caused.

Category 3 open fires are one or more piles exceeding two metres in height or three metres in width; windrows not exceeding 200 metres in length or 15 metres in width; and stubble or grass over an area that doesn’t exceed 0.2 hectares.

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.

The prohibition does not apply to campfires that are a half-metre high by a half-metre wide (or smaller), cooking stoves that use gas, and propane or briquettes.

According to the centre, the following activities and use of the following equipment, materials and substances also remain prohibited:

• Category 2 open fires
• Category 3 open fires
• Fireworks
• Sky Lanterns
• Burn Barrels or Burn Cages of any size or description
• Binary exploding targets
• Air Curtain Burners

The fire danger rating in Fort St. John is “high,” according to the province. This means “forest fuels are very dry, and the fire risk is serious.

Prohibitions apply to all public and private lands unless otherwise specified, such as a local government bylaw.

Anyone conducting open burns during a ban could face a $1,150 ticket, may be required to pay an administrative penalty of up to $10,000, or, if convicted in court, fined up to $100,000 and sentenced to a 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.

The Boundary Lake wildfire is still out of control at approximately 5,900 hectares.

The Peace River Regional District (PRRD) reduced the size of the evacuation order on Sunday while an evacuation alert remains in place. Cecil Lake Road and Clayhurst Road are closed due to the wildfire.

The Red Creek wildfire is considered out of control at approximately 2,800 hectares.

There are approximately 12 active wildfires in the Peace region area.

For all information about active fires in the PGFC, head to the BC Wildfire Service’s website.