Kamloops Fire Centre 2014.06.24

S aturday, June 21, 2014 was National Aboriginal Day, a day to celebrate the family history of First

Nations people as well as their cul-tures and traditions. In Kamloops, there were events in McDonald Park and the Tk’emplups te Secwepemc Arbour. Fourteen fire-fighters from the Kamloops Big-horns Unit Crew and Kamloops Ini-tial Attack crews joined in the fes-tivities. The Bighorn Unit Crew members were invited to be part of the grand entry parade. Wearing their red firefighter uniforms, they symbolized the East, one of the Ab-original four directions. The other colours are yellow for South, black for West and white for North. These colours represent newness, healing, inner vision, and wisdom of the an-

cestors.

After the parade, the Kamloops Fire Centre crews built teepees, taught kids how to use firefighter equipment, manned the bouncy castle and did some fire suppres-sion target practice with the public. Kit Nilson from the Bighorns said his favourite part was the food, sup-plied by the Kamloops Friendship Society. Bannock was tasted by one and all! Jake Kubanski from the Big-horns felt “that it was valuable hav-

ing the Wildfire Management Branch included in these festivities because it promoted fire prevention and encouraged youth to consider firefighting as a career option.” The crews were also able to talk about FireSmart principles and prevention tips with everyone who came to see them at their booth.

Smokey the Bear made an appear-ance and joined in on the First Na-tions dances at the park. Overall, everyone who attended had a won-derful day.

For the latest information on fire activity, bans, restrictions and cur-rent conditions, visit the Wildfire Management Branch website at www.bcwildfire.ca.

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Fire

Zone

# of

Fires

# of

Hectares

Clearwater 1 0

Kamloops 27 63

Salmon Arm 6 2

Vernon 10 4

Penticton 15 186

Merritt 20 13

Lillooet 10 20

Kamloops Fire Centre crews set up camp at National Aboriginal Day in McDonald Park.

P A G E 2

Kamloops Fire Centre Restrictions

Open fire prohibition set for Kamloops Fire Centre

KAMLOOPS – Effective at noon on Sunday, June

15, 2014, the current open burning ban was ex-

panded throughout the entire Kamloops Fire

Centre to include the Salmon Arm Fire Zone and

Clearwater Fire Zone. This is to help prevent hu-

man-caused wildfires and protect the public.

This prohibition will remain in place in the Clear-

water Fire Zone and Salmon Arm Fire Zone for

elevations above 1,200 metres until Sept. 15,

2014. For all other elevations in those zones,

this prohibition will remain in place until Oct. 1,

2014.

This prohibition will remain in place in the Kam-

loops, Vernon, Penticton, Merritt and Lillooet

fire zones until Oct. 15, 2014, or until the public

is informed otherwise.

A map of the affected areas is available online

at: http://bit.ly/1mkOXtb

Specifically, this open fire prohibition applies to:

- The burning of any waste, slash or other mate-

rials.

- The burning of stubble or grass.

- The use of fireworks, sky lanterns or burning

barrels of any size or description.

This prohibition does not ban campfires that are

a half-metre high by a half-metre wide (or small-

er) and does not apply to cooking stoves that

use gas, propane or briquettes.

This prohibition covers all BC Parks, Crown lands

and private lands, but it does not apply within

the boundaries of a local government that has

forest fire prevention bylaws in place and is ser-

viced by a fire department. Before lighting any

fire, residents should check with local civic au-

thorities regarding any current prohibitions.

The Kamloops Fire Centre stretches from the

northern border of Wells Gray Park to the U.S.

border to the south, and from the Bridge River

Glacier west of Gold Bridge to the Monashee

Mountains east of Lumby.

For information about open burning and tips on

making responsible burning decisions, please

download one of the open burning guides at:

http://bcwildfire.ca/hprScripts/WildfireNews/

Bans.asp

Anyone found in contravention of an open fire

prohibition may be issued a ticket for $345 or, if

convicted in court, may be fined up to $100,000

and sentenced to one year in jail. If the contra-

vention causes or contributes to a wildfire, the

person may be subject to a penalty of up to

$10,000 and be ordered to pay all firefighting

and associated costs.

To report a wildfire or unattended campfire, call

*5555 on your cellphone or

call 1 800 663-5555 toll-free.

P A G E 3

Precipitation

Temperature Relative Humidity

These maps are for informational purposes only and should not be used to make operational decisions.

Fire Danger Rating

These maps are current for June 24, 2014.

For the most recent weather maps, please visit www.bcwildfire.ca/weather

P A G E 4

Most recent forecast for KFC Valid as of 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, June 24, 2014

SYNOPSIS: The upper low in the Gulf of Alaska is extending an upper trough across B.C. Associated with the trough is an upper cold front that is crossing the region today, bringing a band of showers. Behind the front this afternoon some clearing will take place, but with daytime heating in a still unstable airmass, isolated thunderstorms may develop late this after-noon, dissipating this evening. Tomorrow, the upper trough will remain over the region and in the still moist unstable airmass, isolated showers may develop. TODAY: Subsident zone, North Thompson and Monashees: Cloudy with showers ending this afternoon then isolated thunderstorms with a 30-per-cent chance of dry lightning. Winds southwest 20 km/h, but erratic and gusty near convection. Afternoon winds south 40 gusting 60 km/h in the Fraser Canyon. High temperatures 20 to 24 and RH values falling to 30 to 45 per cent. TONIGHT: Subsident zone, North Thompson and Monashees: Mainly cloudy with iso-lated evening thunderstorms, then clearing. A 30-per-cent chance of dry lightning. Winds becoming light and variable, except erratic and gusty near thunderstorms. Low temperatures 10 to 14 and RH recoveries 70 to 85 per cent. TOMORROW: Subsident zone, North Thompson and Monashees: Partly cloudy in the morning with increasing afternoon cloud. A 30-per-cent chance of after-noon showers. Winds west 20 km/h. High temperatures 24 to 28 and RH values falling to 20 to 35 per cent. 3 TO 5-DAY OUTLOOK: The upper low will maintain a trough over B.C. for Thursday, Friday and Saturday and conditions will be unsettled with iso-lated to scattered showers developing each afternoon. Temperatures will reach the low to mid-20s and winds will be southwest 20 km/h. 6 TO 10-DAY OUTLOOK: Alternating troughs and ridges, giving variable weather conditions. CONFIDENCE: Fair to good. Precipitation amounts today up to 5 mm but heavier amounts are possible locally. The upper front is crossing the re-gion with the showers in a northwest to southeast orientation and show-ing movement northward. Development this afternoon of thunderstorms will depend to some extent on low-level moisture left by this morning’s showers.

Kamloops Fire

Centre Statistics

Since April 1, 2014:

Fires to date: 89

Hectares burned: 288

Person-caused fires: 68

Lightning-caused fires: 21

2009 at this time:

Fires to date: 257

Hectares burned: 8,864

Person-caused fires: 146

Lightning-caused fires: 111

2003 at this time:

Fires to date: 94

Hectares burned: 88

Person-caused fires: 62

Lightning-caused fires: 32

P A G E 5

Campfires

C areless use of campfires is one of the

leading causes of wildfires. Wildfires

threaten the lives of people and wild-

life, destroy timber and other forest

resources and cost millions of dollars to extin-

guish.

A campfire is an open fire that burns piled mate-

rial no larger than 0.5 metres in height and 0.5

metres in diameter. A person may light or make

use of a campfire when:

there are no other restrictions in place for doing so;

doing so is, and will continue to be, safe;

reasonable precautions are taken to ensure the fire remains contained;

The person is equipped with a hand tool, such as a shovel, or at least eight litres of water, and stays by the fire to prevent its escape;

the person maintains a fireguard;

the person keeps the fire under control and reports the fire if it spreads beyond the burn area;

the person ensures the fire is extinguished before leaving the area for any length of time.

Steps to a better campfire

1. Check with authorities to find out if there

are restrictions on the use of campfires.

2. Consider the wind conditions. If the wind is

strong enough to carry sparks to combus-

tible material, don’t burn.

3. A fire break must surround your fire.

Create one by scraping down the dirt one

metre all around the fire.

4. Keep the fire a reasonable distance away

from any flammable materials, including all

trees and wooden structures.

5. Keep your fire small. The best cooking fire

is small and hot.

6. Keep a shovel and at least eight litres of

water nearby in case the fire escapes.

7. Never leave a campfire unattended.

8. Extinguish your fire by stirring water into

the ashes until it is cold to the touch—hot

coals can reignite the fire.

P A G E 6

Fuel Moisture Codes

Want more information? Visit the websites at bcwildfire.ca

Report a Wildfire *5555 on a cell or 1 800 663-5555

Wildfire Information Line 1 888 3FOREST

Burn Registration Line 1 888 797-1717

Kamloops Fire Centre 1 250 554-5965

Media and Public Line

Important Numbers

W eather information is used to de-

velop codes to indicate how dry

the different classes of fuels are

in the forest. From this information, prepared-

ness levels are set on a daily basis.

The FFMC (Fine Fuel Moisture Code) is a

code that measures the dryness of fine fuels

(grasses, needles, etc.). A number of 85 or

higher indicates a good chance of a fire start

from an ignition source. Once 90 or higher is

reached, all the fine fuels are available to burn.

The DMC (Duff Moisture Code) measures

about 10 cm into the ground and is an indica-

tion of whether a fire that starts will continue

to burn in the duff. A number of 40 or greater

would indicate that a fire will continue to burn.

The DC is the Drought Code, measuring

deeper in the ground. A number of 300 or

greater indicates that the fire will burn deep

into the ground, providing challenges to mop it

up.

The Danger Class is the typical Fire Danger

Rating that is seen on fire signage, where 1

and 2 represent Low, 3 is Moderate, 4 is High

and 5 is Extreme. A map of the current Fire

Danger Ratings is on Page 3.

* If you have any questions about which

weather station you should be monitoring,

please contact your company forester or local

fire zone for information.

A tree catches on fire during a test fire lit by Wild-

fire Management Branch personnel for a fire inves-

tigation course near Merritt.

P A G E 7

Kamloops Fire Centre Indices May. 23, 2014