FIRE SEASON HAS ARRIVED

The forest-fire season got off to quick start as a handful of fires in the region were reported during the Canada Day long weekend.

As of Monday, the Kamloops Fire Centre was dealing with five notable fires, including a small fire on Strawberry Hill, just north of Kamloops.

The blaze was only 0.1 hectare in size and was doused within a few hours by fire crews on Monday.

Officials believe it was the site of an abandoned campfire.

Strawberry Hill was the scene of a giant wildfire during the firestorm season of 2003.

The biggest fire is a 30-hectare blaze (as of Monday night), 20 kilometres south of Lytton, which began Sunday as a result of a vehicle fire.

And as the hot weather continues, Kamloops Fire Centre officials are expecting more blazes.

“We have all the crews out there and on standby, so we’re on our toes,” fire information officer Elise Riedlinger told KTW.

Two other fires were reported near Sicamous and one in South Okanagan Mountain Park near Kelowna.

The fires come after the B.C. Forest Service issued an open fire ban, which covers the entire Kamloops Fire Centre.

The open fire ban does not include campfires used for personal cooking, warmth or light.

The ban is in place until further notice.

“We are expecting it to be quite hot . . . and as we’re going into the summer, it’s a necessary precaution,” Riedlinger said.

The Fire Centre is also reminding people to completely put out their campfires.

“It’s very important, especially since 50 per cent of our fires every year are caused by people,” Riedlinger said.

“We could be taking those resources and using them on naturally occurring fires, like the ones caused by lightning.”

Fire wardens will be patrolling and anyone caught with an unattended campfire could be fined as much as much as $345 and held liable for fire suppression costs if it does turn into a wildfire.

Fire crews have responded to 379 fires provincially since April 1, nearly 85 per cent of which were caused by people.

The Kamloops Fire Centre extends from Wells Gray Park north of Blue River to the U.S. border, and from the Bridge River Glacier west of Goldridge to the Monashee Mountains east of Lumby.