PlaceDossier / BC places / Wildfires / 2010

BC wildfire C10205 · 2010 · 35,506 ha

Pelican Lake Complex wildfire, 2010

The Pelican Lake Complex wildfire started on July 27, 2010, caused by lightning. It was declared out on November 26, 2010. Its mapped perimeter covers 35,506 ha (355 km²): the 2nd-largest of 2010's 39 large fires, and the 54th-largest in BC since 1990. All of it was in Cariboo, Electoral Area I. The nearest municipality, Quesnel, is roughly 77 km away; the fire covered about 9 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

Wildfire G10389, 2006: 1,246 haWildfire C10209, 2010: 2,450 haPlateau wildfire, 2017: 520,885 haWildfire C11937, 2018: 13,433 haWildfire C12328, 2018: 8,278 haPurdy Lake wildfire, 2021: 8,086 haPelican Lake wildfire, 2023: 4,422 haTeepee Lake wildfire, 2023: 7,864 ha20062010201820232023 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
Cariboo, Electoral Area I35,363 ha3%

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 earlier large fire had burned part of this ground, and 3 later large fires burned into it again.

  1. 2006Wildfire G103891,246 ha in all127 ha shared
  2. 2018Wildfire C123288,278 ha in all995 ha shared
  3. 2023Pelican Lake wildfire4,422 ha in all3,301 ha shared
  4. 2023Teepee Lake wildfire7,864 ha in all1,103 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 numberC10205
Season2010
StartedJuly 27, 2010
Declared outNovember 26, 2010
CauseLightning
Area inside the perimeter35,506 ha (355 km²)

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 2010: Binta Lake wildfire. Smaller: Cassiar Highway wildfire. Every large fire of 2010 · all seasons since 1990 · has my property burned?