PlaceDossier / BC places / Wildfires / 2023
BC wildfire G51564 · 2023 · 6,143 ha
Whitefish Lake wildfire, 2023
The Whitefish Lake wildfire started on July 10, 2023, caused by lightning. It burned on through the winter and was declared out on January 21, 2025. Its mapped perimeter covers 6,143 ha: the 52nd-largest of 2023's 119 large fires, and the 265th-largest in BC since 1990. All of it was in Bulkley-Nechako, Electoral Area C. The nearest municipality, Fort St. James, is roughly 53 km away; the fire covered about 2.5 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
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Bulkley-Nechako, Electoral Area C | 6,143 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
No other fire of 1,000 ha or more since 1990 overlaps this one by 50 ha or more.
The record
| Fire number | G51564 |
|---|---|
| Season | 2023 |
| Started | July 10, 2023 |
| Declared out | January 21, 2025 |
| Cause | Lightning |
| Area inside the perimeter | 6,143 ha |
| Location, as the province describes it | SW Whitefish 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: Boundary Lake wildfire. Smaller: Milligan Hills wildfire. Every large fire of 2023 · all seasons since 1990 · has my property burned?