$8,050 in campfire fines issued despite B.C. wildfire state of emergency

Despite wildfires that have destroyed scores of homes and left tens of thousands of residents under evacuation orders, some people continue to defy provincial campfire bans.

The BC Conservation Officer Service said Monday that it had issued seven $1,150 tickets over the weekend for campfires in the Kootenay and South Coast region.

The tickets were issued after officials declared a provincial state of emergency on Friday, the agency said in a social media post, adding the hashtag #DontBeThatPerson.

Campfires remain banned outright in the Cariboo, Kamloops and Southeast fire centres, and are banned in all of the Coastal Fire Centre with the exception of the Haida Gwaii Forest District.

Of the 1,887 wildfires in B.C. since the start of the 2023 season, nearly one in four (23 per cent) were started by human activity.

As of Monday, more than 27,000 people had been forced from their homes due to fires, while another 35,000 have been told to be ready to leave at a moment’s notice.

by Global News