The BC Conservation Officer Service has handed out thousands of dollars in fines for breaches of campfire bans and the Wildfire Act at a time when tens of thousands remain on evacuation order due to wildfire activity.
The enforcement blitz, carried out across the South Coast and Kootenay regions of B.C., came after Premier David Eby declared a state of emergency due to violent wildfire activity, which destroyed dozens of homes and sent up to 27,000 people into evacuation since last week.
A spokesperson for the BCCOS confirmed that over the weekend, officers handed out $8,050 in fines — including five $1,150-tickets for violations of the Wildfire Act, and two connected to illegal campfires.
As of Tuesday morning, there were 380 active wildfires across B.C. Of those, 317 were ignited by lightning and 19 by people. What sparked another 44 wildfires remains unknown.
Category 2 and 3 open burning is currently banned across all regions of the province. Category 1 campfires bans extend across every region of the province outside the northwest and Prince George fire centres.
Amid evacuations, BCCOS chips in
The BCCOS has been working with other law enforcement agencies to respond to the recent extreme wildfire activity in the province's southern Interior. In the Shuswap and Kelowna regions, conservation officers said they supported evacuations through manning checkpoints. They also patrolled by boat to ensure public safety and enforce area restrictions.
"On Okanagan Lake, [conservation officers] are helping keep boat traffic at bay to ensure water bombers have room to work," said the organization in a post to social media.
"In some communities, [conservation officers] are working despite being evacuated from their own homes."
CORRECTION: A previous version of this story stated that seven fines were handed out for illegal camp fires. The BCCOS later corrected itself, saying five fines were related to contraventions of the Wildfire Act, and two connected to illegal campfires.
