Nearly $9 million in damages in downtown structure fires since 2020: City report

PRINCE GEORGE — Prince George City Council will hear the results of a fire patrol project that took place in the fall. The rationale behind this report, was that the downtown core was experiencing a considerable number of open burning reports involving the City’s unhoused population.

In a report to city council from administration, results from a fire patrol project that took place over a 32 day period in the Fall of 2025, showed that Prince George Bylaw Officers discovered 52 fires within their patrolling zones. The fires were almost exclusively small fires, consisting of paper, cardboard and other combustible materials. A total of 16 warning tickets were issued and all subject parties were advised of the dangers of lighting fires.

Since 2022, there have been 358 structure fires in Prince George, with financial losses from these fires estimated at just under $35 million dollars. Downtown structure fire losses since 2020 are estimated to have caused nearly $9 million dollars in damages. City staff says that to address fires stemming from social disorder, “there is a more complicated landscape to navigate and that significant effort is made to respond to calls for service and to proactively patrol to eliminate open burning downtown.”

A chart showing the number of structure fires in the City of Prince George between 2022 and 2025, as well as the estimated financial loss. (Image Credit: City of Prince George)