WILLIAMS LAKE – Effective at 12 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time (PDT) on Thursday, May 4, 2023, Category 3 open fires will be prohibited across the entire Cariboo Fire Centre region. This prohibition includes the Cariboo Chilcotin Forest District, the 100 Mile House Forest District and the Quesnel Forest District.
This open burning prohibition will prevent human-caused wildfires and protect public safety.
Specifically, prohibited activities that would constitute a Category 3 open fire include:
- any fires larger than two meters high by three meters wide;
- three or more concurrently burning piles no larger than two meters high by three meters wide;
- burning of one or more windrows; and
- burning of stubble or grass over an area greater than 0.2 hectares.
Anyone conducting a Category 3 open fire anywhere in Cariboo Region must extinguish any such fire by 12 p.,m. (PDT) May 4, 2023. This prohibition will remain in place until 12 p.m. (PDT) October 27, 2023, or until the public is otherwise notified.
Please view a map of the affected areas below. A map is also available online.
This prohibition does not ban campfires that are half-metre high by a half-metre wide or smaller, and does not apply to cooking stoves that use gas, propane or briquettes.
This prohibition does not ban Category 2 fires, which include one or two concurrently burning piles up to two metres high by three metres wide, or the burning of stubble or grassover an area less than 0.2 hectares.
The Category 3 open fire prohibition applies to all BC Parks, Crown lands and private lands, but does not apply within the boundaries of a local government that has forest fire prevention bylaws in place and is serviced by a fire department. Check with local government authorities for any other restrictions before lighting any fire.
The Cariboo Fire Centre stretches from Loon Lake near Clinton in the south to the Cottonwood River near Quesnel in the north, and from Tweedsmuir Provincial Park in the west to Wells Gray Provincial Park in the east.
Human-caused wildfires are completely preventable and divert critical resources away from lightning-caused fires. Always practice safe, responsible fire use where permitted.
- To report a wildfire, unattended campfire or open burning violation, call 1 800 663-5555 toll-free or *5555 on a cell phone.
- Check with your local government or other jurisdictional authorities before lighting a fire of any size since they may have their own restrictions in place.
- Anyone found in contravention of an open-burning prohibition may be issued a violation ticket for $1,150, may be required to pay an administrative penalty of up to $10,000 or, if convicted in court, may be fined up to $100,000 and/or sentenced to one year in jail. If the contravention causes or contributes to a wildfire, the person responsible may be ordered to pay all firefighting and associated costs.
Follow the latest wildfire news:
- on the free BC Wildfire Service public mobile app, available for Apple (iOS) and Android devices
- on Twitter
- on Facebook
Contact:
BC Wildfire Service
Fire Information Officer
Cariboo Fire Centre
778 799-2100
Connect with the Province of B.C. at www.gov.bc.ca/connect.