Open burning prohibitions to be expanded in the Northwest Fire Centre

June 10, 2026

SMITHERS – Effective at 12 p.m. (noon) PT on Friday, June 12, 2026, Category 2 open fires will be prohibited in the Nadina Fire Zone, including the the Nadina Forest District. The existing Category 3 open burning prohibition will be expanded to the entire Northwest Fire Centre, including the Nadina Forest District, the Coast Mountain Forest District, and the Skeena Stikine Forest District. A map of the affected areas is below.

26 NorthWest MAP S12 Prohibition Color Legal 8X11P Jun 10 Download

Anyone conducting a Category 2 or Category 3 open fire within these regions must extinguish any such fire by 12 p.m. (noon) PT, June 12, 2026. These prohibitions will remain in place until 12 p.m. (noon) PT on Friday, September 25, 2026, or until the public is otherwise notified.

Additional prohibited activities and equipment:

The following activities and use of the following equipment, materials and substances will be prohibited across all fire zones in the Northwest Fire Centre:

Air curtain burners
Carbonizers

The following activities and use of the following equipment, material and substances will be prohibited in the Nadina Fire Zone:

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

A Category 3 open fire is a fire that burns:

Material concurrently in 3 or more piles each not exceeding 2 metres in height and 3 metres in width
Material in one or more piles each exceeding 2 metres in height or 3 metres in width
One or more windrows, none of which exceed 200 metres in length or 15 metres in width
Stubble or grass over an area exceeding 0.2 hectares

A Category 2 open fire is a fire that burns:

Material in one pile not exceeding 2 metres in height and 3 metres in width
Material concurrently in 2 piles, each not exceeding 2 metres in height and 3 metres in width
Stubble or grass over an area that does not exceed 0.2 hectares (2,000 square metres)

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.

It is each individual’s responsibility to ensure that burning is done safely, in accordance with regulations. For more information about open burning, visit the open fire and safer burning webpage.

The prohibitions apply to all areas that are outside of municipal boundaries and 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); and
all lands in the District of Stewart municipality.

Municipalities may align with BC Wildfire Service prohibitions or impose their own prohibitions based on local conditions. If you are within 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 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.