Despite a few early-season forest fires in the Cariboo region, as of June 4 the region is fire-free. It is almost inevitable that fires will begin to break out in the coming months.
The 2024 season saw 51 evacuation orders across the province, 1,680 wildfires and over 1 million hectares of land burned. Before that was the province's worst fire season on record with over 2 million hectares burned in 2023.
So far in 2025, 71 per cent of wildfires have been human caused while 27 per cent were caused by lightning. In the 10-year average 42 per cent of wildfires have been caused by people. The number of human-caused fires has been steadily declining in the past several years.
In 2023 just 26 per cent were caused by people, in 2022 it was 32 per cent, in 2021 it was 38 per cent while 2020 was the worst season on record for human-caused fires with 59 per cent being caused by people.
What people can do to prevent fires is to follow fire restrictions and bans. At the time of publication, the Cariboo Fire Centre only allows fires smaller than 0.5 metres high by 0.5 metres wide that are used for recreational purposes or by a First Nation for ceremonial purposes.
Also banned in the region are:
- Fireworks
- Binary Exploding Targets
- Burn Barrels or Burn Cages of any size or description
- Controlled Air Incinerators
- Air Curtain Burners
- Carbonizers
By following the restrictions put in place, people can dramatically reduce the chance they cause fires. Open fires are the largest factor in human-caused fires within B.C.
Aside from taking action to avoid causing fires, people can also do things to make their homes safer if a fire is in the area. FireSmarting can dramatically reduce the risk of injury or property damage and landowners can implement it themselves.
- Pruning trees to keep branches at least two metres away from buildings
- Planting wildfire-resistant plants instead of more vulnerable ones near homes
- Keeping grass mowed below 10 cm
- Keeping flammable materials such as firewood and propane tanks at least 10 metres away from buildings
Those are just a few things people can do, for more information people can visit FireSmartBC.ca.
People can call *5555 or 1-800-663-5555 to report fires to the BC Wildfire Service. If there is a wildfire being worked on near a road, people should not stop to watch the flames and firefighters work as it can be dangerous to them and the firefighters.
During wildfire season, people going on road trips should be sure to check DriveBC.ca to make sure there are no major highway closures due to fire situations. People should also ensure they keep up to date with evacuation alerts that may impact their communities.
In an evacuation alert, people are advised to prepare for for evacuation, ready to leave at a moment's notice. If an evacuation order is put into place, people are asked to leave the area and head to an evacuation centre in a nearby community.
