With wildfires raging across parts of the province, the BC Wildfire Service has banned off-road vehicles from using backcountry roads on Crown land in much of the Southern Interior.

The ban covers the Kamloops Fire Centre and the Southeast Fire Centre which cover an area from the Cariboo and Kamloops, east to the Alberta border and south to the US border.

The ban came into place at noon, Aug. 10.

“During this period of extreme and unpredictable fire activity, the priority is public and first-responder safety and the prevention of human-caused wildfires,” the BC Ministry of Forests said in a media release. “The operation of any off-road vehicles in these regions during the current wildfire situation creates a potential wildfire risk, such as unintentional ignitions that can lead to new fires.”

The ban includes any off-road vehicle for recreational purposes on Crown land, including all-terrain vehicles, motorcycles, and off-road side-by-sides.

The temporary ban does not apply to private lands or national parks. It also doesn’t apply to emergency responders or to agriculture or commercial and industrial users who operate vehicles for farming, emergency response, or business purposes.

“Given the number of fires currently burning in B.C., the elevated fire danger ratings and the extremely dry conditions in many parts of the province, the BC Wildfire Service strongly urges people in British Columbia and visitors to stay out of the backcountry in these regions,” the media release says. “This is to prevent the potential for unintentional ignitions of wildfires that can be caused by backcountry activity and to mitigate the risk of being in the backcountry, where it can be more challenging and complex to receive support for evacuation if a fire started.”

Anyone found breaking the ban could be fined up to $1,150, and if they cause a wildfire, they could be found responsible for all firefighting and other costs involved, which can reach in the millions of dollars.

The province’s off-road vehicle ban comes in hours after the City of Merritt ordered a total closure of all forested areas along the periphery of the municipality.

Merritt’s ban goes further than the province in its closure of all forested areas and trails around the city.

In 2025, Nova Scotia banned all hiking, camping, fishing and use of off-road vehicles due to the elevated wildfire risk.