If you find an unattended fire, put it out and report it
Hikers, anglers and campers regularly come across abandoned campfires that the previous user thought they had extinguished. If the situation is safe...
Hikers, anglers and campers regularly come across abandoned campfires that the previous user thought they had extinguished. If the situation is safe — small fire, no wind, water available — soak it, stir it and soak it again until the ashes are cool to the touch. If the fire is too large to safely extinguish, do not attempt it. Get to a safe distance and report it immediately — in BC at 1-800-663-5555 or *5555 from a cellphone, in Alberta at 310-FIRE (310-3473), or in the US by calling 911. If lives, structures or vehicles are at immediate risk, call 9-1-1 (or 911) first. Note the location as precisely as you can — trail name, kilometre marker, GPS coordinates, nearest landmark — and the size of the fire and direction of the smoke. An abandoned campfire reported in its first hour is dramatically easier to suppress than one discovered the next afternoon when it has spread into a hectare of bush. You do not need to be certain it is unattended; if no one responds when you call out, treat it as abandoned.
Many of the West’s biggest summer fires started as someone else’s abandoned campfire — reporting one the moment you find it is the single most useful thing a hiker can do.
Source: BC Wildfire Service
Last reviewed 2026-05-02.
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