PlaceDossier / BC places / Wildfires / 2021

BC wildfire K71030 · 2021 · 44,964 ha

Mckay Creek wildfire, 2021

The Mckay Creek wildfire started on June 29, 2021, caused by people. It was declared out on November 4, 2021. Its mapped perimeter covers 44,964 ha (450 km²): the 6th-largest of 2021's 59 large fires, and the 45th-largest in BC since 1990. 70% of it was in Squamish-Lillooet, Electoral Area B. The nearest municipality, Lillooet, is roughly 30 km away; the fire covered about 15 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 K70044, 1994: 1,231 haKelly Creek wildfire, 2009: 20,610 haHell Creek wildfire, 2009: 2,042 haOre Creek wildfire, 2009: 4,575 haJade Mountain wildfire, 2010: 1,897 haElephant Hill wildfire, 2017: 192,017 haYalakom Mountain wildfire, 2022: 6,345 haCasper Creek wildfire, 2023: 11,248 haPear Lake wildfire, 2026: 165,909 haFrench Bar Creek wildfire, 2026: 61,051 ha199420092009 N 010 km

This fireOther large fires since 1990

Outline simplified by us from the BC Wildfire Service's perimeter; its largest parts are shown; 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
Squamish-Lillooet, Electoral Area B31,507 ha9%
Thompson-Nicola, Electoral Area E (Bonaparte Plateau)13,320 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

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

  1. 2009Kelly Creek wildfire20,610 ha in all203 ha shared
  2. 2026Pear Lake wildfire165,909 ha in all88 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 numberK71030
Season2021
StartedJune 29, 2021
Declared outNovember 4, 2021
CausePeople
Area inside the perimeter44,964 ha (450 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 2021: Tremont Creek wildfire. Smaller: Cutoff Creek wildfire. Every large fire of 2021 · all seasons since 1990 · has my property burned?