Fraser Valley/Parksville – Effective on Friday, May 15, 2026, at 12 p.m. (noon), the Category 1 campfire prohibition will be rescinded throughout the Coastal Fire Centre. Category 2 and Category 3 open burning will remain prohibited.
The Category 1 campfire prohibition was initially implemented due to a combination of elevated wildfire risk factors, including:
- Prolonged hot and dry conditions;
- Rising fire weather indices;
- Elevated incidence of human-caused wildfires; and
- Early season operational capacity.
Current and forecast conditions have since shifted, bringing cooler temperatures, improved humidity values and an overall reduction in wildfire hazard throughout the Coastal Fire Centre. Because of this, Category 1 campfires will be once again permitted under the Coastal Fire Centre jurisdiction.
Anyone choosing to light a Category 1 campfire must do so responsibly and in accordance with Section 20 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
Category 2 and Category 3 open fires remain prohibited throughout the Coastal Fire Centre’s jurisdiction in addition to the following activities and equipment:
- Fireworks (Fireworks Act);
- Binary exploding targets;
- Burn barrels or burn cages of any size or description;
- Controlled air incinerators
- Air curtain burners; and
- Carbonizers.
This prohibition applies to all areas within the Coastal Fire Centre that are outside of municipal boundaries. Municipalities may 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 local authority.
This prohibition also 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); and
- Private managed forest land (Private Managed Forest Land Act).
An updated map of this prohibition area will be issued soon. For a description of fire centre boundaries, please visit: Fire Centres – BC Wildfire Service
For more information on open fires, prohibitions and restrictions, visit: gov.bc.ca/saferburning
