Open Fire Ban now in effect across NorthWest BC

The Northwest Fire Centre has added all of the Northwest to their Prohibited
Fires list, with a ban in place as of 8 AM today

With the Fire Danger rating critical in some areas of British Columbia, even the Northwest is feeling some of the effects of the current State of Emergency in the province, with the Northwest Fire Centre issuing an Open Fire Prohibition throughout the Northwest.

The order issued as of 8 AM today, is in place to help prevent human-caused wildfires and to protect public safety.

The term of the prohibition is listed as in effect until October 21st or until the public is otherwise notified.

Some of the activities that are included in the prohibition include the following:

Campfires 
Category 2 open fires 
Category 3 open fires 
The burning of any waste, slash or other materials 
Stubble or grass fires of any size over any area 
The use of stoves and other portable campfire apparatuses that are not CSA-approved or ULC-approved 
Fires burning woody debris in outdoor stoves 
The use of tiki torches, fireworks, firecrackers, sky lanterns, burning barrels or burning cages of any size or description 
The use of binary exploding targets (e.g. for rifle target practice)

Some background on the different categories to be aware of can be found below (click to enlarge)

At the moment, the main concern for Wildfires in the province is in the Cariboo and Highway 97 Highway corridor areas, though small fires have also broken out in the Regional District of Bulkley Nechako.

You can review some of the coverage of the fires in the Interior region here.

Full updates from the BC Wildfire Service are available here, or from their Facebook page and twitter feed.

For full background on the Northwest prohibition see this media information statement from the Northwest Fire Centre.

Notes related to the Wild Fire situation in BC and updates on Northwest concerns will be added to our Wild Fire Archive page here.