Image Credit: Shutterstock
July 04, 2017 - 1:05 PM
With a warm week ahead for much of the Southern Interior, B.C. Wildfire officials will be evaluating the situation to determine if a campfire ban is necessary in the Kamloops Fire Centre.
Fire information officer Max Birkner says places in the Thompson, like Kamloops, Lillooet and Clearwater, along with Salmon Arm in the Shuswap, are currently in an extreme fire danger rating.
The rating is extreme in the Central Okanagan, according to the Regional District. The Vernon area, and the regional west of Osoyoos, also are in the extreme fire danger range.
However a call hasn't been made by B.C. Wildfire to prohibit half-metre by half-metre campfires yet.
"There's no campfire ban as of right now, it is of course being evaluated every day," Birkner says. "This whole week we’re looking at some really hot temperatures."
Wildfire officials are taking precautionary measures to mitigate any potential risks.
"We have a lot of resources on stand by right now, ready to go out immediately if need be," he says.
One of the biggest precautionary steps wildfire officials take is educating the public on how to be safe and cautious this time of year. Just this past weekend, there were 26 abandoned campfires in the Kamloops Fire Centre, Birkner says.
He wants to remind people to use an excess amount of water to extinguish fires, and stir the water around so it puts out any hot ashes.
"Take that extra three minutes to put a lot of water on the fire."
To contact a reporter for this story, email Ashley Legassic or call 250-319-7494 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.
We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above.
News from © iNFOnews, 2017