The BC Conservation Officer Service (BCCOS) in British Columbia announced that it had issued fines totalling approximately $30,000 to violators of the campfire ban over the BC Day holiday weekend.
A campfire ban has been in place in the province’s South Coast region since July 17. However, according to a social media post from the BCCOS on August 7, 26 tickets were issued over a four-day period, including the three-day weekend from August 1 to 4, with fines of $1,150 each.
Sixteen violations were identified in the Sea to Sky region (north of Metro Vancouver), resulting in fines totaling $18,400. Two tickets were also issued on Vancouver Island. Two people were also issued tickets for trespassing in an exclusion zone near the Wesley Ridge wildfire.
According to the BC Wildfire Service (BCWS), campfires are classified as “Category 1,” meaning small open fires measuring less than 50 centimetres in height and width. Outdoor stoves are not prohibited.
The BCWS cautions that open fires are the leading cause of human-caused fires in the state, that human-caused fires are preventable, and that they can take away resources needed to fight natural and existing wildfires.