Starting on Monday, May 31st, Category 3 open fires will be partially prohibited in more areas of the Cariboo.
The prohibition, which has been in effect through the 100 Mile Forest District since May 3rd, will now include to the west side of the high-water mark of the Fraser River within the Cariboo Chilcotin and the Tsilhqot’in (Xeni Gwet’in) Declared Title Area.
Specifically, prohibited activities that would constitute a Category 3 open fire include:
- any fires larger than two metres high by three metres wide;
- three or more concurrently burning piles no larger than two metres high by three metres wide;
- burning of one or more windrows;
- burning of stubble or grass over an area greater than 0.2 hectares.
The prohibition will remain in place until October 1st, or until the public is otherwise notified.
Campfires that are half-metre high by a half-metre wide, and cooking stoves that use gas, propane, or briquettes are not prohibited.
Anyone found in contravention of an open-burning prohibition may be issued a violation ticket for $1,150, may be required to pay an administrative penalty of up to $10,000, or if convicted in court, may be fine up to $100,000 and/or sentenced to one 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.
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