With warmer weather here in the Kamloops area, there is concern once again about fires and fire season.

Kamloops firefighters responded on Tuesday to yet another call about an open fire in the Cooney Bay area.

Platoon Captain Mike Haines says things could have been a lot worse.

“They were small, ” he said. “Crews went out with shovels and put them out, and we had the grass fire the other day out there.”

“I think a lot of people don’t realize that you’re not allowed to have any fires within city limits. So Cooney Bay is still considered city limits, so beach fires are still not allowed.”

He adds crews often have to respond to party fires all across the city, noting these preventable fires often put a strain on their resources.

“It’s a long ways away from the city core, so we have to move apparatus around to fill the holes when crews have to go out to areas like that,” added Haines. “Even though it’s still early in the year, things are dry out there so just be careful.”

He noted that there are a number of factors to be considered when it comes to wildfires – the wind, the heat, the temperatures, the humidity in the air.

“There’s no way to predict what can happen,” Haines said. “With hills around the city and fire at the bottom of the hills, there’s always the concern that it can spread quickly.”

The city’s fire prevention bylaw says the Fire Chief may issue an open air fire permit for the purposes of cooking on a residential property, with a few conditions.

That includes a stipulation that fires can only burn for a maximum of three hours, and they have to be extinguished by 10 PM.

Those fires must also be in a non-combustible firepit that is inspected and approved by Kamloops Fire Rescue.