PlaceDossier / BC places / Wildfires / 2009

BC wildfire K71185 · 2009 · 6,468 ha

Big Dog Mountain - Yalakom wildfire, 2009

The Big Dog Mountain - Yalakom wildfire started on July 31, 2009, caused by lightning. It was declared out on December 1, 2009. Its mapped perimeter covers 6,468 ha: the 8th-largest of 2009's 32 large fires, and the 255th-largest in BC since 1990. 90% of it was in Squamish-Lillooet, Electoral Area B. The nearest municipality, Lillooet, is roughly 60 km away; the fire covered about 2 times the land area of it.

A lot's report shows every mapped fire on it and within 2 km, with the lot drawn on the map.

Where it burned

Tyaughton Lake wildfire, 2009: 8,052 haYalakom Mountain wildfire, 2022: 6,345 haFrench Bar Creek wildfire, 2026: 61,051 haBonanza Creek wildfire, 2026: 34,992 ha2022 N 05 km

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

PlaceBurned thereOf the place's land
Squamish-Lillooet, Electoral Area B5,820 ha2%
Thompson-Nicola, Electoral Area E (Bonaparte Plateau)648 haunder 1%

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

No other fire of 1,000 ha or more since 1990 overlaps this one by 50 ha or more.

The record

Fire numberK71185
Season2009
StartedJuly 31, 2009
Declared outDecember 1, 2009
CauseLightning
Area inside the perimeter6,468 ha
Location, as the province describes itBig Dog Mtn

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 2009: Wildfire C10480. Smaller: Wildfire R90176. Every large fire of 2009 · all seasons since 1990 · has my property burned?