VIDEO: Citizen forest stewards keep finding illegal fires

Never has there been a greater sense of urgency behind a campfire ban.

But for a certain portion of the population, it just doesn't sink in.

And that's why Kane Blake and his Okanagan Forest Task Force have been busy finding and reporting violators.

For much of the year, the focus for the OFTF is cleaning up the garbage left behind by thoughtless individuals.

But come fire season, they're on the hunt for people willing to put us all at risk by defying the current ban on campfires, and lately, they're finding a bunch.

"A lot more than we should be," said Blake. "Last week alone we found three on the weekend, and last night, this one."

Blake is referring to a fire his group discovered just off Postill Lake Road.

It was easily visible from the road and quickly put out by the Ellison Fire Department after the call from the Task Force.

"Last night the fire department thanked us," he said, "and so did the RCMP. We work with them as close as we can and together."

Blake explained the group's policy to avoid confrontations with violators.

"My job isn't to approach them," explained Blake. "We bring in the RCMP, Conservation and the fire department. They're the ones that will approach them. Give them tickets things like that. We're just observing. "

He drives a truck equipped with a 140-gallon water tank, pumps and a hundred feet of firehose.

"If nobody is around then we'll put it out," he said, "and document it and let Conservation know that we've put out a fire in this location."

Blake said the extreme fire conditions bring another level of motivation to what the Task Force is up to.

"It pushes us to be out here that much more," he said.