PlaceDossier / BC places / Wildfires / 2023
BC wildfire C53002 · 2023 · 1,299 ha
Wildfire C53002, 2023
Wildfire C53002 started on August 28, 2023, caused by people. It burned on through the winter and was declared out on January 17, 2024. Its mapped perimeter covers 1,299 ha: the 104th-largest of 2023's 119 large fires, and the 660th-largest in BC since 1990. 79% of it was in Cariboo, Electoral Area J. The nearest municipality, Williams Lake, is roughly 100 km away; the fire covered about 36% of 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Cariboo, Electoral Area J | 1,024 ha | under 1% |
| Cariboo, Electoral Area K | 275 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
1 earlier large fire had burned part of this ground.
- 2010Wildfire C5023411,639 ha in all135 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 | C53002 |
|---|---|
| Season | 2023 |
| Started | August 28, 2023 |
| Declared out | January 17, 2024 |
| Cause | People |
| Area inside the perimeter | 1,299 ha |
| Location, as the province describes it | S of Chilko River |
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 2023: Bull Canyon Park wildfire. Smaller: Branch Road wildfire. Every large fire of 2023 · all seasons since 1990 · has my property burned?