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Custom ventilation forecast

Last updated on May 7, 2024

The Open Burning Smoke Control Regulation (OBSCR) requires you to follow the daily ventilation forecast issued by Environment and Climate Change Canada. Areas within the forecast zone may have better ventilation conditions than the monitoring station's location. In this case, a custom ventilation forecast may be used in place of the daily forecast.

What is a custom ventilation forecast

A custom ventilation forecast predicts how smoke and other pollutants may spread in a specific area. It can be used in place of the daily ventilation forecast issued by Environment and Climate Change Canada.

For burning that's regulated by the Open Burning Smoke Control Regulation (OBSCR), you need to have either:

  • The daily ventilation forecast issued by Environment and Climate Change Canada from the day of the burn or,

  • A custom ventilation forecast for the area where burning is planned

The ventilation conditions required to start or continue burning are described in the OBSCR All Burners Factsheet (PDF, 96KB).

How to get a custom ventilation forecast

For a custom ventilation forecast to be valid under OBSCR, it must be provided by a custom ventilation forecaster and submitted to the ministry via the email OBSCRCVF@gov.bc.ca.

For custom ventilation forecaster credentials, please review the definition listed in the Open Burning Smoke Control Regulation.

Here's a contact list of custom ventilation forecasters:

The turnaround time for a request is 2 to 3 business days.

The above is not an exclusive list and other professionals may meet the criteria to be a custom ventilation forecaster. If you are such a professional and would like to be added to the above list, please email OBSCR@gov.bc.ca