Don鈥檛 let the greenery, flooding or late summer fool you. Fire season is here.

The BC Wildfire Service has set the danger rating in the Kamloops Fire Centre between high and extreme.

鈥淭here is definitely a very high danger rating in the Kamloops Fire Centre right now,鈥� said Max Birkner, fire information officer.

鈥淲e are really concerned about abandoned campfires lately, we鈥檝e had quite a few. A lot of the fires we have been seeing have been human caused.

鈥淲hen there are preventable human-caused fires then that takes away resources from naturally occurring fires such as a lightning fires. While we could just be fighting lightning fires, we have to fight all these extra human-caused fires.鈥�

This point was driven home over this past weekend when a group of Okanagan forest warriors discovered three unattended campfires in the woods around 琉璃神社.

organizer Kane Blake went live with one of the videos of a smouldering unattended campfire up Postill Lake Road on June 26.

Birkner said this trend of unattended campfires is now a major concern for the provincial fire fighting force.

鈥淐oming up on the long weekend here, people will be camping, which is great. We love people enjoying the outdoors, but we are also asking them to be careful,鈥� said Birkner.

鈥淚t is also important to note that fireworks are prohibited right now. While people may be really tempted to set off fireworks on Canada Day we are asking them not to do that. This is because there is a very high fire-danger rating.鈥�

Related: For more information on the current

Not only could a careless camper trigger a destructive wildfire, they are personally facing large fines.

鈥淭he fine for an abandoned campfire is $1,150 and, of course, if that fire spreads and becomes a wildfire they can be held liable for all firefighting costs,鈥� said Birkner.

鈥淛ust think of the resources being used, it is absolutely unnecessary to abandon a campfire. It is so very simple to put them out, instead of leaving it behind. And, the consequences of leaving it behind are very serious.鈥�

The Kamloops Fire Centre itself covers a very large area from Blue River in the north to the U.S. border in the south and from Bridge River in the west to the Monashee Mountains in the east.

There are currently six active fires in the Kamloops Fire Centre and officials have responded to 45 fires so far this year, which have burned a total of 329 hectares.

The 156-hectare Dew Drop fire near Kamloops is currently

Provincially, crews have attended 243 different wildfires that have burned 1,636 hectares.

Send your best news tips, fire photos and video to us by click Contact at the top of this page.