PlaceDossier / BC places / Wildfires / 2017
BC wildfire C10784 · 2017 · 520,885 ha
Plateau wildfire, 2017
The Plateau wildfire started on July 7, 2017, caused by lightning. It burned on through the winter and was declared out on July 5, 2018. Its mapped perimeter covers 520,885 ha (5,209 km²): the largest of 2017's 43 large fires, and the 3rd-largest in BC since 1990. 53% of it was in Cariboo, Electoral Area I. The nearest municipality, Quesnel, is roughly 95 km away; the fire covered about 133 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
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Cariboo, Electoral Area I | 277,903 ha | 23% |
| Cariboo, Electoral Area J | 125,515 ha | 5% |
| Cariboo, Electoral Area K | 117,237 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
8 earlier large fires had burned part of this ground, and 2 later large fires burned into it again.
- 2006Wildfire C102041,108 ha in all1,109 ha shared
- 2009Wildfire C104806,618 ha in all2,323 ha shared
- 2010Wildfire C1019116,977 ha in all1,532 ha shared
- 2010Wildfire C101921,021 ha in all55 ha shared
- 2010Wildfire C102181,815 ha in all561 ha shared
- 2010Wildfire C202691,994 ha in all146 ha shared
- 2010Wildfire C5018616,237 ha in all715 ha shared
- 2014Euchiniko Lakes wildfire21,090 ha in all2,606 ha shared
- 2024North Blackwater River wildfire2,423 ha in all837 ha shared
- 2025Redbrush wildfire5,496 ha in all60 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 | C10784 |
|---|---|
| Season | 2017 |
| Started | July 7, 2017 |
| Declared out | July 5, 2018 |
| Cause | Lightning |
| Area inside the perimeter | 520,885 ha (5,209 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.
Smaller: Hanceville-Riske Creek wildfire. Every large fire of 2017 · all seasons since 1990 · has my property burned?