PENTICTON – An extended wildfire season is encroaching on fall activities on Crown land in the region as access and activity restrictions remain in place.

Fire Information Officer Rachel Witt says the B.C. Wildfire Service and B.C. Fish and Wildlife have issued a joint document outlining current restrictions due to the continuing volatile nature of this year’s fire season.

With fires still burning in the Kootenay-Boundary, Cariboo and Thompson regions, hunters and others engaged in recreational activities on Crown land, including hunting are asked to familiarize themselves with forest use restrictions in place for management units in the Kootenay-Boundary, Cariboo and Thompson regions.

For more information, visit this link.

In the Kamloops Fire Centre, restricted access continues for parts of the Finlay Creek wildfire near Summerland, the Diamond Creek wildfire near the Ashnola Valley, the Philpott Road/ Highway 33 fire east of Kelowna, and the Elephant Hill fire.

The use of all off-road vehicles for recreational use is banned throughout the entirety of the Southeast, Cariboo and Kamloops fire centres.The ban applies to all-terrain vehicles, quads, off-road motorcycles, and side-by-sides.

The ban will be reviewed on a daily basis, but will not be rescinded until significant rainfall occurs.

While some commercial operations may apply for an exemption, there will be no exemptions for hunters, guides or outfitters.

On-highway vehicles are also required to stay on defined roads.

A campfire ban also continues throughout the Cariboo, Kamloops and Southeast fire centres. The ban does not apply to cooking stoves using gas, propane or briquettes, or to a portable campfire apparatus with a CSA or ULC rating using briquettes, liquid or gaseous fuel, as long as the flame height is less than 15 centimetres.The campfire ban covers all B.C. parks, Crown lands and private lands. Local governments serviced by a fire department may have their own bylaws, so check with local authorities to see what burning restrictions are in place prior to lighting a fire.

All Crown land within the Rocky Mountain Natural Resource District is closed to public access because of the danger posed by several out-of-control fires in the region.

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