Stay out of the bush: backcountry access banned

KAMLOOPS (CP) — Access to the backcountry has been banned in a large swath of British Columbia’s Interior as wildfire crews gear up for a challenging weekend.

Kevin Skrepnek with the BC Wildfire Service said winds are expected to pick up Saturday with a change in the weather and that risks fuelling fires already burning throughout the Cariboo fire centre.

The ban started Friday and covers 103,000 square kilometres of Crown lands within the Cariboo region in south central B.C.

Skrepnek said the ban is intended to maintain safety and prevent any human-caused fires that could divert their resources at a time of extreme fire danger.

The restriction means people cannot stay in or enter the area without the prior written authorization. It will remain in place until Sept. 5 but can be lifted earlier if conditions improve.

Thunder showers are in the forecast for the weekend, but Skrepnek said any rain in the Interior is likely to be “patchy” and not enough to douse fires.

“This rain appears to be a fairly temporary fixture. It might buy as a few days of relative reprieve on some fires, but we don’t know yet how much rain is going to fall, where it’s going to fall and how long it’s going to linger for,” he said.

Whether any more rain moves in after Monday is “anyone’s guess,” Skrepnek said.

Commercial operations, people travelling on an official capacity or to their primary residence, travellers using highways and those helping in the firefighting effort are exempt from the backcountry restriction.