A group of B.C. firefighters criticized online last month for photos that appeared to show them ignoring the province's campfire bans has been fined, officials say.
The Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations confirmed Wednesday that the group was fined $1,150, and three warning tickets were issued.
The investigations were sparked by a Facebook post by user Rusty Clark, who uploaded several photos on July 11 of a group standing around a campfire. His post included photos of some of the men's licence plate numbers, as well as a nearby sign indicating that campfires were prohibited.
Most of the comments on the post were critical, but some defended the firefighters, saying they'd been staying at a campsite with no formal kitchen or wash facilities and only cold food being delivered.
"These are not irresponsible fire fighters having a good time, these are people (locals) working very hard in difficult conditions to protect our lands and resources with minimal support," one user wrote.
But the wildfire service said there are no exceptions to the ban that would allow firefighters to cook food over a campfire.
The service conducted its own internal human resources investigation, but the results of that probe will not be made public.
Some of the bans in place at the time of the incident were lifted the day the fine was confirmed.
Campfires are once again allowed in parts of the Prince George fire centre, in the forest districts of Prince George, Fort St. James, Mackenzie, Peace and Fort Nelson thanks to a combination of precipitation and cooler temperatures.
Campfire bans were also lifted in parts of the Northwest fire centre, in the forest districts of Keena Stikine and Coast Mountain.
Open fire prohibitions remain in place, and campfire bans are still in effect for the rest of the province.
