Wildfire restrictions in Interior reined in
WILLIAMS LAKE — Restrictions on travel to B.C.’s backcountry and bans on campfires were lifted in some parts of the province on Wednesday as improved conditions lowered the wildfire risk.
Campfires were once again allowed in most areas of the Prince George and northwest fire centres. Officials from the B.C. Wildfire Service said a ban prohibiting access to the backcountry in the Cariboo region was also scheduled to be rescinded by the end of the day.
Kevin Skrepnek of the Wildfire Service said although calm weather conditions are expected to change in the coming days, forecasted storms shouldn’t be severe and are expected to bring more rain.
The restrictions were extreme and reflected the severity of a historic wildfire season that has seen more than 10,000 square kilometres of land scorched, Skrepnek said.
Campfire bans in the northern parts of the province are rare, Skrepnek said. So was a ban on access to Crown land, such as lakes, forest service roads and recreational sites, in the Cariboo district, hard hit by wildfires.
“Putting the backcountry closure in place was a pretty extraordinary move and we were doing that to basically use every tool we had at our disposal to prevent human-caused fires,” Skrepnek said, adding the last similar ban was in 2003.
Gusty winds were expected to pick up along with thunderstorms today that could aggravate existing fires in the region, Skrepnek said, which is why access to areas immediately around the 49 fires in the Cariboo remains restricted.