PlaceDossier / BC places / Wildfires / 2021

BC wildfire R11562 · 2021 · 20,886 ha

Chief Louis Lake wildfire, 2021

The Chief Louis Lake wildfire started on July 6, 2021, caused by lightning. It was declared out on November 22, 2021. Its mapped perimeter covers 20,886 ha (209 km²): the 9th-largest of 2021's 59 large fires, and the 97th-largest in BC since 1990. All of it was in Bulkley-Nechako, Electoral Area E. The nearest municipality, Burns Lake, is roughly 84 km away; the fire covered about 28 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 R10165, 2009: 1,060 haWildfire R10193, 2009: 1,252 haWildfire R10221, 2010: 7,049 haWildfire R10252, 2013: 3,354 haChelaslie River wildfire, 2014: 133,101 haWildfire R11796, 2018: 50,270 haWildfire R12068, 2018: 53,287 haWildfire R12315, 2018: 87,036 haWildfire R21721, 2018: 88,118 haWildfire R11282, 2023: 24,811 haWells Creek wildfire, 2023: 12,142 haWildfire R11388, 2023: 3,020 haMichel Creek wildfire, 2024: 33,446 haWildfire R11239, 2024: 55,287 ha2009202320242024 N 05 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 E20,886 ha1%

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 4 later large fires burned into it again.

  1. 2009Wildfire R101651,060 ha in all77 ha shared
  2. 2014Chelaslie River wildfire133,101 ha in all360 ha shared
  3. 2023Wildfire R1128224,811 ha in all192 ha shared
  4. 2023Wildfire R113883,020 ha in all147 ha shared
  5. 2024Michel Creek wildfire33,446 ha in all1,799 ha shared
  6. 2024Wildfire R1123955,287 ha in all768 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 numberR11562
Season2021
StartedJuly 6, 2021
Declared outNovember 22, 2021
CauseLightning
Area inside the perimeter20,886 ha (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.

Larger in 2021: Octopus Creek wildfire. Smaller: Nk' Mip Creek wildfire. Every large fire of 2021 · all seasons since 1990 · has my property burned?