PRINCE GEORGE – Effective at 12:00 p.m. (noon) Pacific Daylight Time (PDT) on Thursday May 28, 2026, Category 2 and Category 3 open burning and other associated activities will be permitted in the Prince George Forest District (Prince George and Robson Valley Fire Zones).

A Category 2 and Category 3 open fire prohibition remains in effect in the Stuart Nechako Forest District (VanJam Fire Zone). This prohibition will remain in effect until 12:00 p.m. (noon) on Thursday, October 15, 2026, or until the order is rescinded.

Additional prohibited activities and equipment:

The following activities and use of the following equipment, materials and substances will also be prohibited in the Stuart Nechako Forest District (VanJam Fire Zone):

• Binary exploding targets
• Fireworks, as defined in the Fireworks Act of BC
• Burn barrels or burn cages
• Controlled air incinerators
• Air curtain burners
• Carbonizers

This prohibition does not apply to Category 1 (campfires) that are half-metre high by half-metre wide or smaller, or the use of cooking stoves that use gas, propane or briquettes.

Before lighting a fire of any size, check the BC Wildfire Service open fire prohibitions and contact your local government for any bylaw restrictions in your area.

For more information on open fire and safer burning see our website: https://gov.bc.ca/saferburning

Where this prohibition applies

This prohibition applies to all areas of the Stuart Nechako Forest District (VanJam Fire Zone) that are outside municipal boundaries.

This prohibition also applies to the following types of Crown land within municipal boundaries:

• Parks, conservancies and recreation areas (Park Act)
• Recreation sites, recreation trails, interpretive forest sites and trail-based recreation areas (Forest and Range Practices Act)
• Ecological reserves (Ecological Reserve Act)
• Wildlife management areas (Wildlife Act)
• Private managed forest land (Private Managed Forest Land Act)

See the map below for the areas of the Prince George Fire Centre remaining under Category 2 and 3 prohibitions:

Penalties for non-compliance:

Individuals who violate the open fire prohibition may face fines of up to $1,150, administrative penalties of up to $10,000, or if convicted in court fines up to $100,000 and/or one year in jail. If a prohibited fire leads to a wildfire, the individual may be held responsible for the full cost of firefighting and any damage to Crown resources. More information about the Wildfire Act and Regulation is available online.

Contacts