British Columbia is imposing a total campfire ban across the entire province, except Haida Gwaii, after lightning combined with tinder-dry conditions sparked a huge surge in wildfires over the weekend.
The measure, announced by Minister of Emergency Management Bowinn Ma and effective at 3 p.m. Monday, totally bans the smallest category 1 campfires, measuring up to 50 centimetres by 50 centimetres.
It expands on bans that already applied to certain regions or to larger fires.
Ma said the fire situation had “drastically” worsened over the weekend and the province was anticipating “continued extreme fire behaviour.” She said 115 fires were sparked by dry lightning over the weekend, with 311 fires now burning across the province….