$345 fine for campfires, B.C. officials warn

More than 150 conservation officers and rangers will be patrolling B.C. parks and campsites over the long weekend, enforcing a campfire ban in an attempt to stop the outbreak of more wildfires.

A campfire ban in southwesternB.C. was expanded on Thursday to cover much of the rest of the province.

Violators could be fined $345 for ignoring the order, and they could be forced to pay the costs of fighting any wildfire caused by their negligence, according to provincial fire information officer Kim Steinbart.

After a month of nearly no rain, the fire danger rating for much of B.C. is either extreme or high.More than 240 wildfires have broken out in B.C. in the past 48 hours, and there's no end in sight to the hot, dry conditions that caused the blazes.

About 63 fires larger than 10 hectares or close to human settlements are burning across the province, according fire officials.

"Anyway you look at it, the conditions are pretty dangerous, so people need to be aware that, especially going out this long weekend, that things are going to be quite dry and there is going to be a high level of risk no matter where they go in the province," said Steinbart.

The ban applies to Crown land across all parts of the province except the Kootenays and the extreme west coast of Vancouver Island.

But Steinbart said even though the ban does not apply to the entire province, people should be very cautious with open flame anywhere in the woods this weekend.

Many municipalities also have their own campfire bans.Larger open fires are also banned on Crown land across the province.

Evacuation orders and alerts still in place

Meanwhile Highway 37,about 80kilometres south of the Yukon border, remains closed because of a wildfire, and two evacuation orders and four evacuation alerts are still in effect across the province.

One evacuation order applies to about 20 residents of the Riske Creek Military Base, 50kilometres southeast of Williams Lake. Theywere evacuated earlier this week.

The second applies to residents of the eastern halfofBonaparte Lake near Barriere in the Nicola Regional District. Theywere forced to leave their homes overnight Wednesday.

Evacuation alerts also remain in place for:

• Tatuk Lake, located 55 kilometres south of Vanderhoof.
• Bayliff Road near Alexis Creek, west of Williams Lake.
• The western half of Bonaparte Lake near Barriere.
• The Jade Mine Road in the Yalakom Valley near Lillooet.