Effective at noon on Sunday, May 15, category 2 and category 3 open fires will be prohibited throughout the Kamloops Fire Centre. The prohibition will remain in effect until Oct. 15 or until further notice.

From April 1 to May 11, BC Wildfire Service crews responded to 36 wildfires in the Kamloops Fire Centre, many of which were the result of poorly planned open burning.

A poster explaining the different categories of open burning is available online at: http://bit.ly/1GlhE9l .

Prohibited activities will include:

• The burning of any waste, slash or other materials (piled or unpiled) larger than one-half metre by one-half metre.

• The burning of more than two open fires of any size at the same time.

• Stubble or grass fires of any size over any area.

• The use of fireworks, sky lanterns or burning barrels of any size or description.

A map of the affected areas is available online at http://bit.ly/23FpWix

The prohibition does not ban campfires that are a half-metre high by a half-metre wide (or smaller) and does not apply to cooking stoves that use gas, propane or briquettes.

Anyone found in contravention of an open burning prohibition may be fined $1,150 and required to pay an administrative penalty of $10,000 or, if convicted in court, fined up to $100,000 and/or jailed for up to one year.

If the contravention causes or contributes to a wildfire, the person responsible may be ordered to pay all firefighting and associated costs.

If you see flames or smoke, call 1 800 663-5555 toll-free or dial *5555 on your cellphone.

For the latest information on wildfire activity, conditions and  prohibitions, visit the B.C. Wildfire Service website at www.bcwildfire.ca.