Fire season is well underway and the word of the day is caution.
Since April 1 there have been 186 fires in the province and all but two were person-caused.
Forty-three of those fires have taken place in the Kamloops Fire Centre – every one of them person-caused.
There has been one small person-caused fire in the Salmon Arm Zone that is part of the Kamloops Fire Centre and, as of Monday, the fire danger rating was already high.
“Last week was so hot, even exhaust form an ATV could start a fire,” said provincial fire information officer Kevin Skrepnek. “You don’t usually see humidity that low in May.”
Skrepnek says the area west of Salmon Arm has a high danger rating, while to the east the rating is modest to low.
“It’s a bit cooler and gloomier, but it’s still a danger,” he said Monday afternoon, noting light rain after the dry spell will not do a lot to lower the risk.
Officials are monitoring the situation closely and open burning in the Kamloops Fire Centre is restricted as of today, May 15 – except in the wetter Salmon Arm zone where the restriction goes into effect June 15.
Anyone who chooses to burn in the Salmon Arm Zone must not set a grass fire and must acquire a burn registration if the fire is over two metres by three metres. Salmon Arm Fire Chief Brad Shirley says the City of Salmon Arm adheres to the prohibition set out by the fire centre.
“We’re cautioning people, we’d prefer they wait to fall to burn, but if it’s something they want to do, they need to get a permit – even for a campfire,” says Shirley, noting that a campfire permit is $10 annually and is in effect from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31 of any calendar year.