PlaceDossier / BC places / Wildfires / 2018

BC wildfire R12068 · 2018 · 53,287 ha

Wildfire R12068, 2018

Wildfire R12068 started on August 1, 2018, caused by lightning. It was declared out on December 7, 2018. Its mapped perimeter covers 53,287 ha (533 km²): the 8th-largest of 2018's 84 large fires, and the 39th-largest in BC since 1990. All of it was in Bulkley-Nechako, Electoral Area E. The nearest municipality, Burns Lake, is roughly 110 km away; the fire covered about 71 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 R10065, 2004: 1,105 haWildfire R10193, 2009: 1,252 haTweedsmuir Park wildfire, 2010: 4,274 haWildfire C50287, 2010: 6,273 haWildfire R10221, 2010: 7,049 haWildfire R10252, 2013: 3,354 haChelaslie River wildfire, 2014: 133,101 haWildfire R10077, 2014: 3,413 haWildfire R11796, 2018: 50,270 haWildfire R12315, 2018: 87,036 haTweedsmuir Complex wildfire, 2018: 79,394 haChief Louis Lake wildfire, 2021: 20,886 haWildfire R11282, 2023: 24,811 haWells Creek wildfire, 2023: 12,142 haWildfire R11388, 2023: 3,020 haOppy Lake wildfire, 2023: 40,580 haMichel Creek wildfire, 2024: 33,446 haWildfire R11239, 2024: 55,287 haMount Wells wildfire, 2024: 14,698 haTesla Lake wildfire, 2024: 1,568 ha200420102010201320182021202320242024 N 010 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 E53,287 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

2 earlier large fires had burned part of this ground, and 1 later large fire burned into it again.

  1. 2013Wildfire R102523,354 ha in all2,099 ha shared
  2. 2014Chelaslie River wildfire133,101 ha in all286 ha shared
  3. 2024Michel Creek wildfire33,446 ha in all935 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 numberR12068
Season2018
StartedAugust 1, 2018
Declared outDecember 7, 2018
CauseLightning
Area inside the perimeter53,287 ha (533 km²)
Location, as the province describes itPondosy Bay

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 2018: Tweedsmuir Complex wildfire. Smaller: Wildfire R11796. Every large fire of 2018 · all seasons since 1990 · has my property burned?