PlaceDossier / BC places / Wildfires / 2017

BC wildfire G40709 · 2017 · 8,382 ha

Wildfire G40709, 2017

Wildfire G40709 started on July 7, 2017, caused by lightning. It burned on through the winter and was declared out on January 24, 2018. Its mapped perimeter covers 8,382 ha: the 13th-largest of 2017's 43 large fires, and the 206th-largest in BC since 1990. All of it was in Bulkley-Nechako, Electoral Area D. The nearest municipality, Fraser Lake, is roughly 66 km away; the fire covered about 16 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

Kenney Dam wildfire, 2004: 10,464 haKnewstubb Lake wildfire, 2006: 1,427 haChelaslie River wildfire, 2014: 133,101 haWildfire R11796, 2018: 50,270 haNorth Lucas Lake wildfire, 2023: 34,826 ha N 02 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
Bulkley-Nechako, Electoral Area D8,364 ha2%

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 numberG40709
Season2017
StartedJuly 7, 2017
Declared outJanuary 24, 2018
CauseLightning
Area inside the perimeter8,382 ha
Location, as the province describes itE of Lucas Lake

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 2017: Quinn Creek wildfire. Smaller: Precipice Creek (Stillwater Lake/ Hotnarko) wildfire. Every large fire of 2017 · all seasons since 1990 · has my property burned?