File photo. (Image Credit: CFJC Today)
Burning Prohibition Lifted

Category 2 and 3 open fires permitted within Kamloops, Cariboo Fire Centres

Sep 29, 2026 | 12:18 PM

WILLIAMS LAKE, B.C. — UPDATE (3:00 p.m.): The Category 2 and 3 fire ban will also be removed in the Kamloops Fire Centre at 12:00 p.m. on Friday (Oct. 2).

EARLIER: Larger controlled fires may resume in the Cariboo region. 

Effective at 12:00 p.m. Friday (Oct. 2), the BC Wildfire Service says the temporary prohibition on Category 2 and 3 open fires will be lifted. The burning prohibition came into effect on April 23 and was scheduled to remain in place until Oct. 31, unless it was rescinded earlier. 

Category 2 and 3 fires typically refer to the burning of yard waste piles and woody material, with fire sizes smaller than two metres high by three meters wide. 

Additionally, the wildfire service says air curtain burners, carbonizers, binary exploding targets, fireworks, burn barrels and controlled air incinerators are now permitted within the Cariboo Fire Centre. 

The lifting of the Category 2 and 3 open fire prohibition comes nearly four weeks after campfires were once again permitted in the Cariboo and Kamloops Fire Centres. However, Category 2 and 3 open fires remain temporarily banned in the Kamloops region. 

The wildfire service reminds residents that they must comply with B.C.’s Open Burning Smoke Control regulations and check the local venting index before lighting a Category 2 or 3 open fire. Anyone lighting a Category 3 fire must also obtain a burn registration number.