Question/opinion on local riding conditions?

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XT350

New member
Question/opinion on local riding conditions. I know off road ridding is banned any anywhere near the fire zones, for good reason of course. My question is... Local off-road riding, I.E gravel roads like the Hurley and Seton portage, my understanding is they are open for riding but... would you ride them givin the current conditions? Thanks Rob
 
O

offworlder

Moderator
Responsible behaviour is the order of the day. I was @ McNutt the other day, and came across a group of riders smoking!
If the haze over the province isnt enough of a reminder....
 
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S

Shuswap

Member
I wouldn't hesitate to ride the Seton-Portage, Lillooet area on WELL-established roads. But as offworlder said, responsible behavior, erring on the side of caution is required, even where there has not been a ban put in place. Anyone smoking on McNutt, in these conditions, is quite simply an ass.
 
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filterx

filterx

Member
Was just discussing this in another forum and buddy posted that there is now a BC wide off-road ban BUT I could not find confirmation of that. Personally and IMO this is the worst year for fires since they started recording in 1950 and really we should be doing our small part to not ride anywhere off road. Then the smoke is so bad right know, the last thing I want to do is be riding off road and even went on a short street ride last night and it wasn't fun. I'm hanging out having some beers and doing a staycation in Squamish
 
ejfranz

ejfranz

Member
And have the battery of the vaporizer explode and cause a fire.On the noon global news they mentioned that all crown land is closed off road vehicles.
 
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C

cactusreid

Active member
That's exactly what I thought Gerald! I assume a plated bike on existing roads , with caution would within the legal boundaries?
 
G

Grinder

Member
I don't know if this will bring clarity to this ban,but I was stopped today on a fsr in the Falkland area on a plated dualsportbc motorcycle and told that all motorcycles are included in the ban. I commented that I thought it was just unregistered vehicles and was told no all motorcycles. Now I don't know if that is just a bias to motorcycles or the law?
 
Bora20

Bora20

Administrator
Stopped and told by whom? Legally you have an on-road registered vehicle and are no different than a pickup provided you have a spark arrestor in your exhaust. You are not an ORV.

Morally and socially, probably not the best to be out at all until the fires are under control and the social media blitz slows down.
 
S

Shuswap

Member
Most don't have a problem complying with fire regs but there is a confusing array of interpretations. A trip through the various official websites doesn't help much either. Certainly not a good time to be seen to be flaunting the rules but there are an awful lot of FS Roads that are widely cleared in BC and should be either off-limits to all....or inclusive of plated, spark-arrested, Dual Sports.
 
G

Grinder

Member
I was waved over by a Fire Warden his comment on stopping me was are you aware of the ban on off road vehicles on fsr I said I was aware but that is for unregistered off road vehicles and my bike is licensed. His comment was no its all motorcycles. I wasn't on a fsr I had just went by the Piller Lake day area
 
250ccforme

250ccforme

Member
Definition of Fire Warden from BC Gov site: "Fire Wardens Fire wardens are an important resource for detecting fires in areas of high fire risk. There are approximately 400 fire wardens located across British Columbia who are hired by the BC Wildfire Service on an “as-needed” basis during periods of heightened wildfire activity. Fire wardens may be delegated limited authority under the Wildfire Act to extinguish fires as well as assist in a variety of program areas such as fire operations, prevention and detection." ORV "ban" from BC Gov site: "Off-road vehicles restricted in backcountry 8/4/2017 11:00 AM KAMLOOPS - Effective at noon (Pacific time) on Friday, Aug. 4, 2017, the operation of any off-road vehicle for recreational purposes on Crown land will be prohibited throughout the Cariboo Fire Centre, Kamloops Fire Centre and Southeast Fire Centre. In addition, all on-highway vehicles must remain on defined road surfaces. " I think the fire warden (hired "as needed") is throwing his weight around. The road past Pillar lake would certainly be a defined road surface. And a motorcycle with a valid plate would be an on-highway vehicle. I'd want to speak to his superior and maybe the next one up the chain of command.
 
O

offworlder

Moderator
XT and me crossed over into the Shushwap yesterday, and came across a fellow (fire warden?) near Mud Lakes. He stated we were not to leave the main roads, and we clarified we were sticking to the FSRs. He was very pleasant, but made it clear that the backcountry is closed to motorized vehicles till further notice.
We saw no signs going in, but upon emerging back on the tarmac, there was a sign stating the same.
 
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