PlaceDossier / BC places / Wildfires / 2009

BC wildfire season 2009

In 2009, the BC Wildfire Service recorded 3,064 wildfires, and their mapped perimeters cover 245,052 ha (2,451 km²): the 10th-largest season since 1990 by area. 32 fires grew past 1,000 ha and account for 86% of that area; the largest was the Lava Canyon wildfire at 67,743 ha. Large fires reached Northern Rockies.

Lava Canyon wildfire, 2009: 67,743 haWildfire G90084, 2009: 23,764 haKelly Creek wildfire, 2009: 20,610 haTerrace Mountain wildfire, 2009: 9,277 haTyaughton Lake wildfire, 2009: 8,052 haWildfire K71110, 2009: 7,835 haWildfire C10480, 2009: 6,618 haBig Dog Mountain - Yalakom wildfire, 2009: 6,468 haWildfire R90176, 2009: 4,659 haOre Creek wildfire, 2009: 4,575 haChilko Lake wildfire, 2009: 4,171 haWildfire G60461, 2009: 4,049 haMount McLean wildfire, 2009: 3,652 haBrookmere wildfire, 2009: 2,869 haNotch Hill (Hilliam Mountain) wildfire, 2009: 2,857 haHeckman Pass Area wildfire, 2009: 2,826 haWildfire G60274, 2009: 2,759 haWildfire K11303, 2009: 2,580 haWildfire G90324, 2009: 2,311 haWildfire C50402, 2009: 2,288 haPritchard wildfire, 2009: 2,187 haGalena Bay wildfire, 2009: 2,085 haHell Creek wildfire, 2009: 2,042 haWildfire R90075, 2009: 2,037 haWildfire C20062, 2009: 1,924 haSeton Portage wildfire, 2009: 1,753 haCorkscrew Basin wildfire, 2009: 1,738 haIntlpam wildfire, 2009: 1,597 haMomich Lake wildfire, 2009: 1,515 haWildfire R90189, 2009: 1,455 haWildfire R10193, 2009: 1,252 haWildfire R10165, 2009: 1,060 ha

Fires of 1,000 ha or more in 2009Other years since 1990

The 32 large fires of 2009, largest first

  1. 1Lava Canyon (C50418)July 30, 2009 · Cariboo, Electoral Area J; Cariboo, Electoral Area K67,743 ha
  2. 2G90084May 29, 2009 · Northern Rockies23,764 ha
  3. 3Kelly Creek (C40429)August 1, 2009 · Thompson-Nicola, Electoral Area E (Bonaparte Plateau); Squamish-Lillooet, Electoral Area B20,610 ha
  4. 4Terrace Mountain (K50720)July 15, 2009 · Central Okanagan West9,277 ha
  5. 5Tyaughton Lake (K70216)May 29, 2009 · Squamish-Lillooet, Electoral Area A8,052 ha
  6. 6K71110July 25, 2009 · Thompson-Nicola, Electoral Area I (Blue Sky Country)7,835 ha
  7. 7C10480July 31, 2009 · Cariboo, Electoral Area I6,618 ha
  8. 8Big Dog Mountain - Yalakom (K71185)July 31, 2009 · Squamish-Lillooet, Electoral Area B; Thompson-Nicola, Electoral Area E (Bonaparte Plateau)6,468 ha
  9. 9R90176July 30, 2009 · Stikine Region4,659 ha
  10. 10Ore Creek (K71219)July 31, 2009 · Squamish-Lillooet, Electoral Area B; Thompson-Nicola, Electoral Area E (Bonaparte Plateau)4,575 ha
  11. 11Chilko Lake (C50400)July 30, 2009 · Cariboo, Electoral Area J4,171 ha
  12. 12G60461July 30, 2009 · Stikine Region4,049 ha
  13. 13Mount McLean (K70814)July 22, 2009 · Squamish-Lillooet, Electoral Area B3,652 ha
  14. 14Brookmere (K61231)July 30, 2009 · Thompson-Nicola, Electoral Area N (Beautiful Nicola Valley - South); Okanagan-Similkameen, Electoral Area H2,869 ha
  15. 15Notch Hill (Hilliam Mountain) (K31483)August 20, 2009 · Thompson-Nicola, Electoral Area L (Grasslands); Columbia-Shuswap, Electoral Area C2,857 ha
  16. 16Heckman Pass Area (C50396)July 30, 2009 · Central Coast, Electoral Area C; Cariboo, Electoral Area J2,826 ha
  17. 17G60274July 29, 2009 · Peace River, Electoral Area B2,759 ha
  18. 18K11303August 1, 2009 · Thompson-Nicola, Electoral Area O (Lower North Thompson)2,580 ha
  19. 19G90324July 30, 2009 · Stikine Region2,311 ha
  20. 20C50402July 29, 2009 · Central Coast, Electoral Area C2,288 ha
  21. 21Pritchard (K21563)August 20, 2009 · Thompson-Nicola, Electoral Area L (Grasslands)2,187 ha
  22. 22Galena Bay (N50397)July 26, 2009 · Columbia-Shuswap, Electoral Area B; Central Kootenay, Electoral Area K2,085 ha
  23. 23Hell Creek (K71183)July 31, 2009 · Squamish-Lillooet, Electoral Area A; Squamish-Lillooet, Electoral Area B2,042 ha
  24. 24R90075June 10, 2009 · Stikine Region2,037 ha
  25. 25C20062May 2, 2009 · Cariboo, Electoral Area K1,924 ha
And 7 more
  1. 26Seton Portage (K71263)August 2, 2009 · Squamish-Lillooet, Electoral Area B1,753 ha
  2. 27Corkscrew Basin (C50381)July 27, 2009 · Cariboo, Electoral Area J1,738 ha
  3. 28Intlpam (K70951)July 26, 2009 · Thompson-Nicola, Electoral Area I (Blue Sky Country)1,597 ha
  4. 29Momich Lake (K11011)July 25, 2009 · Thompson-Nicola, Electoral Area O (Lower North Thompson)1,515 ha
  5. 30R90189July 30, 2009 · Stikine Region1,455 ha
  6. 31R10193July 31, 2009 · Bulkley-Nechako, Electoral Area E1,252 ha
  7. 32R10165July 31, 2009 · Bulkley-Nechako, Electoral Area E1,060 ha

Under each fire: when it started and the places with the most of it. Bars compare each fire with the season's largest.

Wildfires recorded3,064
Area inside mapped perimeters245,052 ha (2,451 km²)
Fires of 1,000 ha or more32, covering 210,608 ha
Rank by area since 199010th of 36

Every fire of 1,000 ha or more since 1990, as the BC Wildfire Service mapped it. A perimeter is the fire's outer edge: patches inside it may not have burned, and the hectares are the area inside it. A fire that burned through the winter keeps the year it started. Names are the province's; a fire without one goes by its fire number. The area adds up every perimeter of the season, small fires included; where two fires' perimeters overlap, the ground is counted twice, so totals can differ from the BC Wildfire Service's season summary.

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.

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.

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