SMITHERS – Effective at 12 p.m. (noon) Pacific Daylight Time on Thursday, March 28, 2024, Category 2 and Category 3 open fires will be prohibited across the Bulkley Fire Zone and Nadina Fire Zone, which includes the Nadina Forest District and the Skeena portion of the Skeena/Stikine Forest District.
This open burning prohibition will prevent human-caused wildfires and protect public safety.
Specifically, prohibited activities that would constitute a Category 2 and 3 open fire include:
- One to two concurrently burning piles no larger than two metres high by three metres wide or burning stubble or grass over an area less than 0.2 hectares;
- burning of one or more windrows;
- burning of stubble or grass over an area greater than 0.2 hectares;
- fireworks; and
- sky lanterns
A map of the affected areas is available below and online.
This prohibition does not ban campfires that are a half-metre high by a half-metre wide or smaller and does not apply to cooking stoves that use gas, propane, or briquettes.
The Category 2 and 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.
For more information on Category 2 & 3 open burning please click here.
Anyone conducting a Category 2 or Category 3 open fire anywhere in Bulkley or Nadina Zones must extinguish any such fire by 12 p.m. (noon) PDT on March 28, 2024. This prohibition will remain in place until 12 p.m. (noon) on September 28, 2024, or until the public is otherwise notified.
Anyone found in contravention of an open burning prohibition may be issued a ticket for $1,150, required to pay an administrative penalty of up to $10,000 or, if convicted in court, 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, as well as the value of resources damaged or destroyed by the wildfire.
The Northwest Fire Centre would like to thank the public for its continuing help in preventing wildfires. To report a wildfire, or open burning violation, call 1 800 663-5555 toll-free or *5555 on a cell phone. For up-to-date information on current wildfire activity, burning restrictions, road closures and air quality advisories, call 1 888 3-FOREST or visit: www.bcwildfire.ca
Follow the latest wildfire news:
- on the free BC Wildfire Service public mobile app, available for Apple (iOS) and Android devices
- on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/BCGovFireInfo
- on Facebook at: http://facebook.com/BCForestFireInfo
Contact:
Information Officer
Northwest Fire Centre
BC Wildfire Service
BCWS.NWFCInfo@gov.bc.ca
250 876-6844