PlaceDossier / BC places / Wildfires / 2023

BC wildfire G60666 · 2023 · 176,539 ha

Big Creek wildfire, 2023

The Big Creek wildfire started on June 6, 2023, caused by lightning. It burned on through the winter and was declared out on August 29, 2024. Its mapped perimeter covers 176,539 ha (1,765 km²): the 5th-largest of 2023's 119 large fires, and the 10th-largest in BC since 1990. 62% of it was in Bulkley-Nechako, Electoral Area C. The nearest municipality, Mackenzie, is roughly 124 km away; the fire covered about 8 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 G60179, 1998: 4,074 haOssilinka Complex wildfire, 2006: 1,166 haCat Mountain wildfire, 2006: 2,786 haTenakihi - Mesilinka Complex wildfire, 2014: 61,285 haWildfire G60369, 2014: 1,998 haWildfire G51928, 2018: 1,501 haGromet Hill wildfire, 2018: 2,904 haWildfire G62717, 2018: 1,065 haMount Porter wildfire, 2021: 13,702 haWildfire G61199, 2021: 11,665 haBlackpine wildfire, 2021: 16,836 ha200620062014201420182018202120212021 N 020 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 C108,657 ha4%
Stikine Region44,179 haunder 1%
Peace River, Electoral Area B23,704 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

5 earlier large fires had burned part of this ground.

  1. 2006Ossilinka Complex wildfire1,166 ha in all802 ha shared
  2. 2014Tenakihi - Mesilinka Complex wildfire61,285 ha in all6,737 ha shared
  3. 2014Wildfire G603691,998 ha in all1,681 ha shared
  4. 2018Gromet Hill wildfire2,904 ha in all2,612 ha shared
  5. 2021Mount Porter wildfire13,702 ha in all1,602 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 numberG60666
Season2023
StartedJune 6, 2023
Declared outAugust 29, 2024
CauseLightning
Area inside the perimeter176,539 ha (1,765 km²)
Location, as the province describes itOmineca 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: Ekwan Tower wildfire. Smaller: Wildfire G90207. Every large fire of 2023 · all seasons since 1990 · has my property burned?