PlaceDossier / BC places / Wildfires / 2003
BC wildfire K50628 · 2003 · 25,636 ha
Wildfire K50628, 2003
Wildfire K50628 started on August 16, 2003, caused by lightning. It burned on through the winter and was declared out on June 17, 2004. Its mapped perimeter covers 25,636 ha (256 km²): the 4th-largest of 2003's 33 large fires, and the 75th-largest in BC since 1990. It reached Kelowna, burning 2,122 ha there, 8% of the city's land. The whole fire covered about the land area of Kelowna.
A lot's report shows every mapped fire on it and within 2 km, with the lot drawn on the map.
Where it burned
This fireOther large fires since 1990
Outline simplified by us from the BC Wildfire Service's perimeter; not for locating a lot. Check a lot with the search above.
Sources: BC Wildfire Fire Perimeters – Historical, BC Wildfire Service; BC Wildfire Fire Perimeters – Current, BC Wildfire Service; BC Wildfire Fire Incident Locations – Historical, BC Wildfire Service; BC Wildfire Fire Locations – Current, BC Wildfire Service (Open Government Licence – British Columbia), as published on October 2, 2026; 2021 census subdivision boundaries, Statistics Canada (Statistics Canada Open Licence). Outlines simplified and places measured by PlaceDossier.
Places it reached
| Place | Burned there | Of the place's land |
|---|---|---|
| Okanagan-Similkameen, Electoral Area E | 12,753 ha | 23% |
| Central Okanagan | 10,761 ha | 8% |
| Kelowna | 2,122 ha | 8% |
Measured by us: the fire's mapped perimeter laid over Statistics Canada's boundaries of each municipality and electoral area. A place is listed when the fire burned any of a municipality, 25 ha or more of an electoral area, or a twentieth of the fire.
Burned before or since
1 later large fire burned into it again.
- 2018Wildfire K512421,370 ha in all1,367 ha shared
Overlaps measured by us on the mapped perimeters, which are the outer edges: where two overlap, the ground may have burned once, twice or not at all.
The record
| Fire number | K50628 |
|---|---|
| Season | 2003 |
| Started | August 16, 2003 |
| Declared out | June 17, 2004 |
| Cause | Lightning |
| Area inside the perimeter | 25,636 ha (256 km²) |
| Location, as the province describes it | OK Mountain Park |
Past fire is history, not a forecast. The chance of fire on a lot today depends on what the record doesn't show: the forest and grass around it, the slope, what has been thinned or burned since, and how far it is from a fire hall.
Before you buy or build, ask the local government or fire department about the fire protection area, FireSmart work and the distance to a fire hall, and ask your insurer what they need.
Sources: BC Wildfire Fire Perimeters – Historical, BC Wildfire Service; BC Wildfire Fire Perimeters – Current, BC Wildfire Service; BC Wildfire Fire Incident Locations – Historical, BC Wildfire Service; BC Wildfire Fire Locations – Current, BC Wildfire Service (Open Government Licence – British Columbia), as published on October 2, 2026. Outlines simplified and places measured by PlaceDossier.
Larger in 2003: Wildfire G90239. Smaller: Wildfire N10470. Every large fire of 2003 · all seasons since 1990 · has my property burned?