As summer hits its stride in the southern Interior, the BC Wildfire Service says there’s no plan to ban campfires just yet.

Fire information officer Madison Smith says that’s always being assessed, especially now as the fire danger rating starts to climb.

“The weather has been in our favor, I guess, so far this spring, with the wet conditions we’ve had. Moving forward we can’t really predict more than a few days in advance. The upcoming weather will determine how the rest of the fire season looks.”

As of this morning, the fire danger rating is “low” to “moderate” in the Kamloops area, and is “high” in the Fraser Canyon.

Before this past weekend, the fire danger rating was “low” to “very low” across essentially all of southern B.C.

“So if you are planning to ignite a campfire or a Category 2 open fire, make sure it’s fully extinguished before leaving the site. As well, don’t burn in windy conditions. Just because the wind can move sparks to a different area and ignite different fuels,” Smith says.

(Photo: Simon Rizzardo)