Update: This ban is also in effect for all public and private properties including category 1 burns.
The Province has put into a place a campfire ban that applies across the Northwest Fire Zone as a precautionary measure and that includes Prince Rupert. This will be in effect From August 31st and noon until October 16, or until the order is rescinded.
Due to extended periods of hot and dry weather, and forecasts of strong winds in the coming days, there is a campfire ban in effect. This order affects the majority of communities and surrounding areas from Burns Lake to Prince Rupert and north to Atlin.
The following open fires are prohibited in the Northwest Fire Centre as defined in Wildfire Regulation:
- Category 1 campfires
- Category 2 open fire
- Category 3 open fire
In addition to open fires being prohibited, the following activities and equipment are also restricted:
- Fireworks, including firecrackers
- Sky lanterns
- Burn barrels or burn cages of any size or description
- Binary exploding targets
- Air curtain burners
- Tiki and similar kind of torches
- Chimineas
To learn more about the different categories of open burning, visit the Provincial website.
This prohibition does not include the use of outdoor stoves. As per the Wildfire Regulation, an outdoor stove is a CSA-rated or ULC-rated device used outdoors for cooking, heat or ambiance that burns charcoal briquettes, liquid fuel or gaseous fuel, and has a flame height that is less than 15 centimetres tall.
The Category 1 campfire prohibition includes all BC Parks, Crown lands and private lands. Human-caused wildfires are completely preventable and divert critical resources away from lightning-caused fires.
A map to the affected areas is here: 23_northwest_map_s10s12_prohibition_color_8x11l_info_aug28.pdf (gov.bc.ca)
More information is here: Campfire Prohibition Planned for the Northwest Fire Centre – BC Wildfire Service (gov.bc.ca)