PlaceDossier / BC places / Wildfires / 2021
BC wildfire K21001 · 2021 · 89,627 ha
Sparks Lake wildfire, 2021
The Sparks Lake wildfire started on June 28, 2021, caused by people. It was declared out on November 21, 2021. Its mapped perimeter covers 89,627 ha (896 km²): the largest of 2021's 59 large fires, and the 20th-largest in BC since 1990. 83% of it was in Thompson-Nicola, Electoral Area J (Copper Desert Country). The nearest municipality, Cache Creek, is roughly 42 km away; the fire covered about 86 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Thompson-Nicola, Electoral Area J (Copper Desert Country) | 74,451 ha | 22% |
| Thompson-Nicola, Electoral Area O (Lower North Thompson) | 9,913 ha | 2% |
| Thompson-Nicola, Electoral Area E (Bonaparte Plateau) | 4,144 ha | under 1% |
| Thompson-Nicola, Electoral Area P (Rivers and the Peaks) | 415 ha | under 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
3 earlier large fires had burned part of this ground.
- 2003Wildfire K2027227,137 ha in all59 ha shared
- 2017Elephant Hill wildfire192,017 ha in all179 ha shared
- 2018Wildfire K203512,465 ha in all421 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 | K21001 |
|---|---|
| Season | 2021 |
| Started | June 28, 2021 |
| Declared out | November 21, 2021 |
| Cause | People |
| Area inside the perimeter | 89,627 ha (896 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: Lytton Creek wildfire. Every large fire of 2021 · all seasons since 1990 · has my property burned?