Effective at 1 p.m. Mountain Time on Friday, September 11, Category 2 open fire will be permitted throughout the Southeast Fire Centre, which includes the Rocky Mountain Natural Resource District and the Selkirk Natural Resource District.

Anyone choosing to light a Category 1 campfire or Category 2 open fire must do so responsibly and in accordance with Section 20 and Section 21 of the Wildfire Regulation:

• Do not burn in windy conditions;
• Establish and maintain a fuel break;
• Do not leave the fire unattended;
• Ensure the fire is fully extinguished before leaving the area;
• Carry out fire control immediately and/or report the fire if it spreads beyond the established fuel break.

A Category 2 open fire is a fire that burns:

1. Material in one pile not exceeding two metres in height and three metres in width;
2. Material concurrently in 2 piles each not exceeding two metres in height and three metres in width;
3. Stubble or grass over an area that does not exceed 0.2 hectares.

In addition to Category 2 open fire, the following activities and equipment are also permitted:

• Fireworks as defined in the Fireworks Act of BC;
• Binary exploding targets;
• Burn barrels or burn cages of any size or description;
• Controlled air incinerators.

Reminder: Category 3 open fires have been prohibited throughout the Southeast Fire Centre since May 21.

A Category 3 open fire is a fire that burns:

1. Material concurrently in three or more piles, each not exceeding two metres in height and three metres in width;
2. Material in one or more piles, each exceeding two metres in height and three metres in width;
3. One or more windrows each not exceeding 200 metres in length or 15 metres in width;
4. Stubble o grass over an area exceeding 0.2 hectares.

In addition to Category 3 open fires, the following equipment and activities are also prohibited: Air curtain burners; Carbonizers.

This prohibition applies to all areas in the Southeast 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);
• 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.

BC Wildfire Service

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