Two weeks ago, like many other lucky individuals to receive the Monday of the Canada Day long weekend off, I hit the road for an extended four day weekend.
My final destination was a little town in the Cariboo, off of Hwy. 97, that will be familiar to many, Lac La Hache, where a friend鈥檚 family owns property.
The trip to Lac La Hache has become an annual event for the group of us, where we could take some time off of work, get away from the bright lights and the constant noise of the city for a weekend or more and kick back, relax and enjoy the peace and serenity associated with the country.
For me, it was the chance to kick back, relax and enjoy the company of friends that I haven鈥檛 seen in quite some time.
Usually, when we would head to Lac La Hache in July and August, instead of May or June, there would already be campfire bans in affect across B.C.
This year, however, we were lucky enough that our nights could be spent sitting around a campfire.
For three consecutive nights a campfire was built, and for three consecutive nights, that campfire was completely extinguished before the last person went to bed that night.
Proper campfire attention is key this time of year.
Currently there are no bans on open fires or campfires and there is no forest use restrictions in the Northwest.
But as reported early in the Lakes District 亚洲天堂 wildfire season in Northern B.C. has begun to swing into full affect.
According to wildfiresbc.ca there are currently five forest fires burning in Northwest Fire Centre region.
Three of those fires have been caused by lightning, while the other two are still under investigation on how they started.
In addition to those five fires, another five fires in the Lakes District in previously weeks have been started by humans.
As of July 3, during this fiscal year (April 1, 2014, to March 31, 2015), there have been a total of 35 forest fires in Northwest B.C. that have burned a total of 113 hectares so far.
That number includes a fire near Takysie Lake, six kilometres from the Southside, that so far has burned approximately 36 hectares, and was started by the lightning strikes that were experienced last week.
While approximately 50 per cent of forest fires are caused by lightning, many are caused by human carelessness, specifically centred around campfire carelessness.
It is important to remember that a campfire should be surrounded by a fuel free area, with water or a shovel easily accessible should it need to be put out.
As well, campfires should be completely extinguished before leaving the area.
Last year there were 32 abandoned campfires in the Nadina Forest District alone.
An abandoned fire can result in a $345 fine.
More than that though, abandoned fires that lead to forest fires cause unnecessary work for our wildfire forest fires.
Why cause there to be an unneeded strain on our wildfire management resources?
Just use common sense and put out your campfire.
Like Smokey the bear said, 鈥淥nly you can prevent forest fires.鈥�
