A group of young adults were caught hosting a party with a large bonfire in mid-August, during the province-wide fire ban, and handed a hefty fine.
The “pit party” was reported on Aug. 16, around 10 pm, to the Salmon Arm Fire Department.
Police were called for help. They attended the scene and found a group of six young adults around the bonfire with more pallets apparently ready to go into the fire.
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Firefighters extinguished the fire and doused the ground around it, which police say was surrounded by brush and tall trees.
A news release says the group claimed “one of their friends said it was ok to have a fire, a news release says.
Police told them a provincial fire ban was in place and explained the risk of having a large fire with no means of extinguishing if it had gotten out of control.
The campfire ban was not lifted for the Kamloops Fire Centre, which includes Salmon Arm, until Aug. 27.
As of Sept. 3, category three and category four open burning remain prohibited.
According to the Salmon Arm RCMP, one of the young men took responsibility for the fire and was handed a $1,150 fine under the Wildfire Act.
“The other five friends agreed they would chip in to pay the fine,” Mounties say.
