As August long weekend approaches, the province would like to remind campers that the fire ban is in effect as of Thursday, an it applies to all Regional District day use parks.
Camping reservations in BC Parks are up almost 10 per cent compared to last year.
All but nine campgrounds in the province have sold out of reservations for the upcoming weekend. Many still have first-come, first-served sites available.
The Regional District of Fraser-Fort George operates several day use parks, including sites at Berman Lake, Cedarside, George Hicks, Giscome Portage, Harold Mann, John Dahl, Koeneman, Kristian Winther, McMillan Creek, Ness Lake and Wilkins.
The fire ban applies to fires of any size, including campfires, along with fireworks, tiki torches and burning barrels.
It does not include cooking stoves that use gas, propane or briquettes, or portable campfire apparatus with a CSA or ULC rating using briquettes, liquid or gaseous fuel, as long as the flame stays shorter than 15 centimetres.
The ban is necessary as the risk of wildfire continues to be extremely high with the hot dry weather the region is experiencing.
Crews and personnel from the Cariboo Fire Centre responded to more than 80 new fires on Wednesday, mostly due to Tuesday's thunderstorms.
While most of the new fires have remained small, some have been challenging and smoke be visible throughout the Cariboo and surrounding areas.
A cluster of five fires near Pelican Lake, west of Quesnel, covers about 1,000 hectares. There are also several fires near Alexis Creek that have prompted the Cariboo Regional District to issue an evacuation alert for residents living on Bayliff Road. The largest of these fires is about 800 hectares.
There are also two wildfires south and west of Meldrum Creek which has resulted in an evacuation order for residents in the area, about 15 kilometres west of Williams Lake.
