Category 2 Fire Restrictions in Effect July 10

July 9, 2026

Effective at 1:00 p.m. Mountain Time on Friday, July 10, Category 2 open fire will be prohibited in Fernie. This ban mirrors the Southeast Fire Centre Fire Ban, which includes the Rocky Mountain Natural Resource District and the Selkirk Natural Resource District. This prohibition is being enacted to help prevent human-caused wildfires and protect public safety.

Anyone conducting Category 2 open fires within the Southeast Fire Centre's jurisdiction must extinguish those fires by the 1:00 p.m. Mountain Time, July 10, 2026, deadline.

This prohibition will remain in place until 1:00 p.m. Mountain Time October 31, 2026, or until the order is rescinded. This prohibition does NOT include Category 1 campfires.

A “Category 2 open fire” means an open fire, other than a Category 1 campfire, that burns:

• material in one pile not exceeding 2 metres in height and 3 metres in width

• material concurrently in two piles each not exceeding 2 metres in height and 3 metres in width

• stubble or grass over an area that does not exceed 0.2 hectares

Under Category 2, the following is also prohibited: 

  • Fireworks
  • Sky Lanterns
  • Binary Exploding Targets
  • Burn Barrels or Burn Cages of any size or description
  • Air Curtain Burners

 To learn more about fire restrictions in the Elk Valley, visit the BC Southeast Fire Centre website.