PlaceDossier / BC places / Wildfires / 2023

BC wildfire G41158 · 2023 · 21,927 ha

Gatcho Lake wildfire, 2023

The Gatcho Lake wildfire started on June 25, 2023, caused by lightning. It burned on through the winter and was declared out on August 30, 2024. Its mapped perimeter covers 21,927 ha (219 km²): the 26th-largest of 2023's 119 large fires, and the 90th-largest in BC since 1990. 71% of it was in Cariboo, Electoral Area J. The nearest municipality, Fraser Lake, is roughly 130 km away; the fire covered about 41 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 C10466, 2006: 1,238 haDean wildfire, 2006: 11,119 haEntiako Lake wildfire, 2012: 7,459 haChelaslie River wildfire, 2014: 133,101 haWildfire C11837, 2018: 12,321 haWildfire R12315, 2018: 87,036 haTweedsmuir Complex wildfire, 2018: 79,394 haWildfire VA1964, 2018: 44,817 haAnahim Peak wildfire, 2023: 3,347 haOppy Lake wildfire, 2023: 40,580 haLaidman Lake wildfire, 2024: 5,466 ha20062006 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
Cariboo, Electoral Area J15,656 haunder 1%
Bulkley-Nechako, Electoral Area E6,271 haunder 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.

  1. 2006Wildfire C104661,238 ha in all91 ha shared
  2. 2018Tweedsmuir Complex wildfire79,394 ha in all384 ha shared
  3. 2018Wildfire VA196444,817 ha in all304 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 numberG41158
Season2023
StartedJune 25, 2023
Declared outAugust 30, 2024
CauseLightning
Area inside the perimeter21,927 ha (219 km²)
Location, as the province describes it1.5km SE of Gatcho Lake

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: Nation Creek wildfire. Smaller: Wildfire G60325. Every large fire of 2023 · all seasons since 1990 · has my property burned?