Open burning banned across B.C. to curb human caused wildfires

The BC Wildfire Service says large open burning will be banned across the province to prevent human-caused wildfires.

Under the province’s fire ban designations, Category 2 and 3 open burning will be prohibited starting at noon Thursday.

This includes large open fires, other than a campfire, that burn material in one or more piles not exceeding two metres in height and three metres in width, as well as burning stubble or grass that doesn’t exceed 0.2 hectares.

In its 2023 wildfire cause summary, the service has reported 42 wildfires as human-caused, while 15 were started by lightning and three with unknown causes.

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The service has also announced that, starting Friday at noon, all open fires, including campfires, will be prohibited throughout the Prince George Fire Centre, where all four out of control wildfires in the province are located.

It says campfires elsewhere in the province have to be confined to 0.5 metres in height and 0.5 metres in diameter.

“Open burning can be a useful tool when conducted responsibly and only while it is permitted. If conducted irresponsibly or in unsafe conditions, the potential of a human-caused wildfire increases,” the service said on Twitter last month.

The service’s website lists 60 active wildfires in the province.

The northeastern city of Fort St. John on Wednesday lifted an evacuation alert that had put the community of about 21,000 residents on edge since Monday.