Campfire bans now lifted for most of B.C., with southern Vancouver Island the lone exception

As of noon Friday, campfires are once again allowed across most of British Columbia, with only the drought-challenged region of southern Vancouver Island still covered by restrictions.

The B.C. Wildfire Service saidcampfire prohibitions are now being removed across the entire KamloopsFireCentreand in the Boundary firezone of the SoutheastFireCentre.

Campfires, which must be no more than half a metre wide by half a metre high, are also nowallowed across much of the Coastal Fire Centre but remain banned across the southern third of Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands.

Severalweeks without consistent rainfall left much of the South Coast under serious drought conditions this summer. Authorities in the Gulf Islands saidthe season's drought wasone of the worst they'dexperienced in recent memory.

Bans were lifted last month in the Cariboo and Prince Georgefire centre regionsand in the NorthwestFireCentre region in July.

The wildfire service saidfireactivity is decreasing across B.C. but about 200 blazes are still burning.Two are still ranked as firesof note, with both rated as either under control or being held.

Statistics from the Ministry of Forests and Emergency Management B.C. show 1,585 wildfires have burned 8,686 square kilometres of land an area three times the size of Metro Vancouver since the start of the season on April 1.