With warmer weather on the horizon, the PK’s first fire ban in the north was implemented. From noon on Friday, the outdoor fires of category 2 and 3 will be prohibited at the Northwest Fire Center. BC Wildfire Service says they are imposing the ban “due to current and forecast weather conditions” in parts of the region. However, fires are still allowed in the area. Fires are defined by the BCWS as not exceeding 0.5 meters in height and width. The Northwest Fire Center remains the only fire department in the province with any fire restrictions, but the Okanagan Similkameen Regional District also limits open combustion in the Anarchist, Kaleden, Naramata, Okanagan Falls and Willowbrook Fire Areas. . Last year, firefighting restrictions were enforced at the Kamloops Fire Station – which includes the entire Thompson-Okanagan – in early June, and a nationwide fire ban was lifted on June 30. The 2021 fire season turned out to be one of the worst the area has ever seen, with fires burning a record 496,983 hectares of land at the Kamloops Fire Department.
