B.C. wildfires still threat, residents told

B.C. residents are being warned not to be complacent about forest fires because of recent rain and cooler weather, whilea campfire ban remainsin effect.

"Our enforcement of fire restrictions will not diminish. In fact, we're doubling the patrols that will be out, compared to the previous weekend," B.C. Forests Minister Pat Bell said in areleaseThursday.

Between Aug. 6 and 12, officers issued 43 tickets for $345 each. They also discovered 30 abandoned campfires and instructed 53 people to douse open flames such as candles and torches.

Under the Wildfire Act, penalties for causing a wildfire, even accidentally, can range up to $1 million and three years' imprisonment, in addition to liability for costs and damages.

About 600 fires are still burning in the province, the ministry's website reported Thursday.

One of the biggest is the Terrace Mountain wildfire north of Kelowna, which is 64 per cent contained, the website said.

Of the thousands of people who were forced to evacuate in recent weeks, only 18remain under evacuation orders, the ministry said.

The 2009 wildfire season has been one of the most active and dangerous in recent memory, with more than 2,400 fires to date, 530 more than at the same point in what had been the biggest recent fire season in 2003, Bell said.