Category 2 Open Fire Prohibition planned for the Kamloops Fire Centre

June 11, 2025

KAMLOOPS – In addition to the already prohibited Category 3 open fires, Category 2 open fires, as well as other equipment and activities will be prohibited throughout the Kamloops Fire Centre effective at 12:00 noon Pacific Daylight Time (PDT) on June 13, 2025 to help prevent human-caused wildfires and protect public safety. This open fire prohibition will remain in effect until the earlier of 12:00 noon Pacific Daylight Time (PDT) on October 17, 2025 or until the orders are rescinded. Anyone conducting Category 2 open fires within the Kamloops Fire Centre’s jurisdiction must extinguish those fires by the 12:00 noon Pacific Daylight Time (PDT) on June 13, 2025 deadline.

A map of the affected area is available below.

25 Kamloops MAP S1012 Prohibition Color Info 8X11P Jun 10 Download

As of June 13, 2025, the following open fires are prohibited in the Kamloops Fire Centre:

Category 2 open fire as defined in the Wildfire Regulation
Category 3 open fire as defined in the Wildfire Regulation
Associated equipment and activities.

Specifically, this prohibition refers to the following activities:

“Category 2 open fire” which means an open fire, other than a Category 1 campfire, that,

burns material in one pile not exceeding 2 metres in height and 3 metres in width,
burns material concurrently in two piles each not exceeding 2 metres in height and 3 metres in width, or
burns stubble or grass over an area that does not exceed 0.2 hectare.

View the Category 2 open fire poster or the Category 2 open fire brochure for more information.

In addition to Category 2 and Category 3 open fires being prohibited, the following equipment and activities are also restricted:

air curtain burners,
carbonizers,
binary exploding targets,
fireworks, as defined in the Fireworks Act of BC,
burn barrels or burn cages of any size or description, except when used for a Category 1 campfire as defined in the Wildfire Regulation, and
controlled air incinerators.

This prohibition applies to all areas in the Fire Centre that are outside of municipal boundaries. In addition, this prohibition applies to the following types of 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); and
private managed forest land (Private Managed Forest Land Act).

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.

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.

This prohibition does not ban Category 1 campfires that are a half-metre high by a high-metre wide or smaller and does not apply to cooking stoves that use gas, propane, or briquettes. Learn more about types of open burning.

The Kamloops Fire Centre would like to thank the public for its continuing help in preventing wildfires. To report a wildfire, unattended campfire 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.

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