WILLIAMS LAKE – Effective at 12:00 p.m. (noon) PDT on Wednesday, July 22, 2026, Category 1 campfires and associated activities will be prohibited throughout the entirety of the Cariboo Fire Centre, including the Tsilhqot’in (Xeni Gwet’in) Declared Title Area.
Contributing Factors
Campfire prohibitions take into consideration multiple factors including the level of fire activity within the region, availability of firefighting resources, fire danger ratings, weather indices, potential for lightning, risk of human-caused fires, and the region’s Buildup Index (BUI).
Category 2 and Category 3 prohibitions and all associated activities remain in effect throughout the Cariboo Fire Centre including the Tsilhqot’in (Xeni Gwet’in) Declared Title Area.
Prohibition Details
- At noon on July 22, Category 1 campfires are prohibited in the Cariboo-Chilcotin Natural Resource District, the 100 Mile House Natural Resource District and the Quesnel Natural Resource District.
- Includes the Tsilhqot’in (Xeni Gwet’in) Declared Title Area.
- The prohibition will remain in effect until 12:00 p.m. (noon) on Saturday, October 31, 2026, or until the order is rescinded.
Please view a map of the prohibition area is available online and below.
Municipalities often follow BC Wildfire Service prohibitions or may impose different prohibitions based on conditions in their local area. If you are in a municipality, be sure to check if local prohibitions are in place. If you are within a regional district or improvement district, this prohibition applies as well as any local prohibition issued by the regional district or improvement district. BC Parks follows BC Wildfire Service prohibitions.
What is prohibited
- Category 1 campfires including the following equipment and activities:
- Sky Lanterns
- Wood fired hot tubs, wood fired pizza ovens and other wood fired devices unless vented through a structure that has a flue and is incorporated in a building.
- Open burning on the following types of land within municipal boundaries:
- Parks, conservancies and recreation areas
- Recreation sites, recreation trails, interpretive forest sites and trail-based recreation areas
- Ecological reserves
- Wildlife management areas
- Private managed forest land
- Category 3 and Category 2 open fires remain prohibited through the entire Cariboo Fire Centre including the following associated equipment and activities:
- Binary exploding targets
- Fireworks
- Burn Barrels or Burn Cages
- Controlled air incinerators
- Air curtain burners
- Carbonizers
What is not prohibited
- Outdoor stoves as defined in the Wildfire Regulation, 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 cm tall.
Penalties
- Anyone found in contravention of an open fire prohibition may be issued a ticket for $1,150, required to pay an administrative penalty of $10,000, or, if convicted in court, fined up to $100,000 and/or sentenced for up to one year in jail.
- If your fire causes or contributes to a wildfire, you may be fined up to $1 million and/or sentenced to up to 3 years in jail, as well as be responsible for all firefighting and associated costs.
Reporting
- To report an unattended campfire or open burning violation calling call the RAPP line at 1-877-952-7277.
- To report illegal fires in a local fire department’s jurisdiction, call 9-1-1.
- Dial *5555 on a cell phone or call 1 800 663-5555 toll-free to report a wildfire.
- Use the Report function in the BC Wildfire App to report a wildfire. Reporting though the app lets you upload images and can be used without service.
Stay in the know
For the latest information on current wildfire activity, prohibitions and restrictions, road closures, and air-quality advisories please visit BCWildfire.ca, the BC Wildfire Map, or use the BC Wildfire app.
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Contact:
Fire Information Officer
Cariboo Fire Centre | BC Wildfire Service
778 799-2100
CaFCInfo@gov.bc.ca
Connect with the Province of B.C. at www.gov.bc.ca/connect