Conservation officers in British Columbia discovered numerous illegal campfires during spot checks over the weekend, as wildfire crews battle out-of-control blazes that are threatening communities in the south of the province.
The B.C. Conservation Officer Service said in a statement on social media on Monday that it issued 19 violation tickets and almost $22,000 in fines.
“Claiming you didn’t know about the campfire ban is not an acceptable excuse,” it said.
Campfire bans are in place in the Cariboo, Kamloops and Southeast fire centres, and parts of coastal B.C., while bans on larger fires cover almost all other areas.
The crackdown came as authorities in the Village of Clinton, B.C., about 350 kilometres northeast of Vancouver, were assessing damage after residents were forced to flee their homes last week in the face of a fire complex that has prompted expanding evacuation orders….