Effective noon (Pacific time) on Friday, May 24, 2019, burning prohibitions will be in effect throughout the Northwest Fire Centre’s jurisdiction to reduce wildfire risks and protect public safety.

These prohibitions will remain in effect until the public is otherwise notified.

The Northwest Fire Centre extends from the border of the Yukon Territory in the north to Tweedsmuir Provincial Park in the south, and from the Pacific Ocean and Alaska border in the west to just east of Endako. A map of the affected areas is available online: http://ow.ly/rztn30oOiRt

All burning, including campfires, will be prohibited in the Cassiar Fire Zone, while Category 2 open fires will be prohibited in the remainder of the Northwest Fire Centre. Specifically prohibited activities in the Cassiar Fire Zone will include:

• campfires, defined as any fire smaller than 0.5 metres high by 0.5 metres wide;
• industrial and backyard burning (Category 2 and Category 3 open fires);
• outdoor stoves and other portable campfire apparatuses that are not CSA or ULC approved;
• fireworks, firecrackers, tiki torches, sky lanterns, chimineas;
• air curtain burners;
• burning barrels or burn cages of any size, type or description; and
• the use of binary exploding targets (e.g., for rifle target practice).

Category 2 open fires will be prohibited in the remainder of the Northwest Fire Centre. A Category 2 open fire is defined as:

• larger than a campfire (0.5 metres high by 0.5 metres wide);
• one or two concurrently burning piles no larger than three metres wide by two metres high; or
• the burning of stubble or grass over an area less than 0.2 hectares.

With the exception of the Cassiar Fire Zone, the Northwest Fire Centre is not restricting the use of the following items at this time:

• fireworks, firecrackers, tiki torches, sky lanterns, chimineas, air curtain burners, burning barrels;
• outdoor stoves and other portable campfire apparatuses that are not CSA or ULC approved; and
• the use of binary exploding targets (e.g. for rifle target practice).

While larger Category 3 open fires outside the Cassiar Fire Zone are not being restricted, the Northwest Fire Centre will contact holders of burn registration numbers to ask them to refrain from lighting piles for the foreseeable future. Any burn registration number holders, who may already have piles burning, will be asked to let them burn out. New burn registration numbers will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

The prohibitions apply to all public and private land, unless specified otherwise (e.g. in a local government bylaw). Please check with local government authorities for any other restrictions before lighting any fire.

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 to one year in prison. If the contravention causes or contributes to a wildfire, the person responsible may be ordered to pay all firefighting and associated costs.

To report a wildfire or an open burning violation, call *5555 on a cellphone or 1 800 663-5555 toll-free.

Find the latest information on current wildfire activity, burning restrictions, road closures and air quality advisories: http://www.bcwildfire.ca

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