Okanagan is Safe, Come Back

ORV ban lifted as officials urge tourists back to the Okanagan

August 28 2026 - The B.C. Wildfire Service rescinded recreational off-road vehicle prohibitions at noon Friday on Crown land in the Kamloops and Southeast fire centres and in parts of the Cariboo and Coastal fire centres.

ATVs, dirt bikes and side-by-sides may operate again on those lands. Campfires and other open fires remain banned.

The lift was announced Thursday at the same Summerland news conference where the province ended its wildfire state of emergency and pressed visitors to return.

Forests Minister Ravi Parmar, Mayor Doug Holmes and MLA Amelia Boultbee said communities hit by the Bald Range fire need hotel bookings and local spending.

Parmar called it “safe to come back” and asked people to fill rooms rather than take that money elsewhere. Tourism groups had already been telling travellers that much of the valley was open and that cancelled August traffic had hammered restaurants, wineries and shops.

The timing puts machines back on Crown forest just before a long weekend and the early-September hunting openings that many rural operators count on after a lost peak season.

On social media, reaction to the ban lifting was split.

Riding clubs called it good news and told people to get out responsibly. Others said the lift came too soon, arguing the Okanagan is still extremely dry and that hot vehicles in the backcountry do not match the “open and safe” pitch.

The weekend message from government is twofold: come spend money in the communities, and if you go off pavement, treat fire season as unfinished.

Okanagan is Safe, Come Back