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The B.C. government announced on Monday that as of noon, all off-road vehicles will be banned on Crown land in many areas of the province.
The ban applies to the Kamloops Fire Centre, the Southeast Fire Centre, the Coastal Fire Centre and the Cariboo Fire Centre.
“Given the scope and scale of fires currently burning in B.C., and the elevated danger ratings in many southern regions of the province, this prohibition is being put into place to further protect public safety,” the government said in a release.
“The operation of any off-road vehicle for recreational purposes on Crown land will be prohibited and all on-highway vehicles must remain on road surfaces as defined in the Forest Planning and Practices Regulation.”
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The prohibition applies to off-road vehicles including all-terrain vehicles, motorcycles and off-road side-by-side vehicles.
“This is to prevent the potential for unintentional ignitions of wildfires that can be caused by backcountry activity and to mitigate the risk of being in the backcountry, where it can be more challenging and complex to receive support for evacuation if a fire started,” the government said in a release.
This prohibition does not apply to private lands or national parks. It also does not apply to emergency response, agriculture or commercial/industrial users who operate off-road vehicles for farming or business purposes.
The Kamloops Fire Centre spans from the northern border of Wells Gray Provincial Park to the U.S. border in the south, and from the Bridge River in the west to the Monashee Mountains in the east, including the Southern Okanagan and the Lytton and Lillooet areas.
The Southeast Fire Centre spans from the Mica Dam in the north to the U.S. border in the south, and from the Okanagan Highlands and Monashee Mountains in the west to the Alberta border in the east.
The Coastal Fire Centre covers the Lower Mainland, the Sea-to-Sky corridor, Vancouver Island, the Central Coast and Haida Gwaii.
The Cariboo Fire Centre spans from the Cottonwood River in the north to Clinton in the south, and from Tweedsmuir Provincial Park in the west to Wells Gray Provincial Park in the east.
This prohibition will remain in place until noon PDT on Oct. 9, or until the order is rescinded.
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