Crowd watching fireworks/via 123rf

The City of Kamloops may ban the use of the fireworks this New Year’s Eve, because of existing drought conditions in the area.

Assistant Fire Chief Scott Johnson says it comes after a very dry summer in the Kamloops area that led to a similar ban being enacted on Halloween.

“We haven’t really got any precipitation so, its very dry out here and keeping our community safe is our top priority,” he said. “So yeah, we just have made that decision to reduce that risk.”

“If we get a significant amount of precipitation or a good amount of snow on the ground [before the end of this month], I would definitely look at this, but again, we’re just trying to make sure that our community is safe. It is too much of a risk right now.”

Johnson says anyone caught lighting, possessing, storing or selling unauthorized fireworks, could be fined $250.

“There is no real policing, I would say, but with this notice out to the community, there are plenty of people with watchful eyes out there that will make sure that we know,” Johnson said, when asked about enforcement.

Earlier this year, Fire Chief Ken Uzeloc told Radio NL that people could be fined thousands of dollars if the fireworks they set off result in a fire.

“It goes beyond that because quite frankly, if you have now done something that is illegal and not allowed, there is also a method we could look at, where you could be responsible for the costs of the whole response that is needed to deal with anything that might happen,” Uzeloc said.