The BC Wildfire Service (BCWS) is issuing a campfire ban for the Dawson Creek, Fort St. John and Fort Nelson fire zones.
The campfire ban comes into effect June 5 at noon and will remain in effect until 12:00 (noon) on Wednesday, October 15, 2025, or until it is rescinded.
As always, the District is following the advice of BCWS, and banning all open burning and recreational fires.
Additionally, any active permits issued for open burning by the Tumbler Ridge Fire Department will be cancelled effective the same time. “This prohibition applies to opening burning and recreational fires as defined in the District of Tumbler Ridge Fire Protection Bylaw No. 680, 2019.”
Prohibitions apply to all public and private lands unless otherwise specified.
In addition to prohibiting the use of open fire of any size, the following activities are prohibited:
- Fireworks, including firecrackers
- Sky lanterns
- Burn barrels or burn cages of any size or description
- Binary exploding targets
- Air curtain burners
- Chimineas
- Tiki and similar kinds of torches
- Outdoor stoves or other portable campfire apparatus without a CSA or ULC rating
This prohibition does not include the use of outdoor stoves.
Anyone found in contravention of an open-burning prohibition may be issued a violation ticket for $1,150, may be required to pay an administrative penalty of up to $10,000 or, if convicted in court, may be 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.
According to BCWS, multiple factors are taken into consideration when assessing wildfire hazards and deciding whether to implement an open fire prohibition, including: current and forecasted weather conditions; the availability of firefighting resources; and the Buildup Index (BUI).
The BUI rating is an estimate of the total amount of fuel available for combustion on the landscape. It takes into account the fuel’s moisture content, since that can affect fire intensity.
Campfire prohibitions are implemented based on the particular region’s BUI values. The BUI allows the province’s six fire centres to follow a consistent and scientific process for evaluating the need for campfire prohibitions.
Campfires are allowed elsewhere in the Prince George Fire District.
Trent is the publisher of Tumbler RidgeLines.
