PlaceDossier / BC places / Wildfires / 2023

BC wildfire G41502 · 2023 · 34,826 ha

North Lucas Lake wildfire, 2023

The North Lucas Lake wildfire started on July 8, 2023, caused by lightning. It burned on through the winter and was declared out on August 30, 2024. Its mapped perimeter covers 34,826 ha (348 km²): the 18th-largest of 2023's 119 large fires, and the 57th-largest in BC since 1990. 73% of it was in Bulkley-Nechako, Electoral Area D. The nearest municipality, Fraser Lake, is roughly 54 km away; the fire covered about 64 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

Kenney Dam wildfire, 2004: 10,464 haKnewstubb Lake wildfire, 2006: 1,427 haBinta Lake wildfire, 2010: 39,073 haChelaslie River wildfire, 2014: 133,101 haWildfire G40709, 2017: 8,382 haWildfire R11683, 2018: 8,100 haWildfire R11796, 2018: 50,270 haWildfire R12270, 2018: 9,253 haWildfire R11282, 2023: 24,811 ha 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 D25,314 ha5%
Bulkley-Nechako, Electoral Area E9,512 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

1 earlier large fire had burned part of this ground.

  1. 2004Kenney Dam wildfire10,464 ha in all187 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 numberG41502
Season2023
StartedJuly 8, 2023
Declared outAugust 30, 2024
CauseLightning
Area inside the perimeter34,826 ha (348 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 2023: Wildfire G81934. Smaller: Patry Creek wildfire. Every large fire of 2023 · all seasons since 1990 · has my property burned?