Over $110,000 in campfire ban fines handed out across B.C. this summer

Campfires are allowed again across the province, but larger Category 2 and 3 fires are still not permitted in the Kamloops and Cariboo fire centres and in parts of the Coastal Fire Centre.

While temperatures have returned to seasonal levels for the past several weeks, the BC Wildfire Service (BCWS) says there is the potential for higher-than-normal fire activity later this fall, as well as warm and dry winter conditions that could affect existing drought and snowpack levels.

“Above-average temperatures and drier-than-normal conditions are probable through September for northern B.C., the South Coast and parts of the Interior,” the BCWS’s fall 2026 outlook reads. “Drought conditions also remain above average in the Kootenay, Thompson, Okanagan, Cariboo and northeast regions of B.C.”

“Although the conditions may allow fires to start more easily than in other recent fall seasons, the fire behaviour will not be as elevated as in summer months.”

BCWS also cautioned with El Niño intensifying over the winter, coastal areas in B.C. may see more precipitation while areas across the Interior could experience warm, dry conditions and a low winter snowpack.

“Long-range guidance indicates that B.C. will see a warmer-than-normal fall with below normal precipitation, a low winter snowpack in interior regions and low likelihood that regions experiencing above normal drought this fall will recover ahead of the 2027 fire season,” the outlook added.

by Victor Kaisar, CFJC Today (Kamloops)

Over $110,000 in campfire ban fines handed out across B.C. this summer

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