PlaceDossier / BC places / Wildfires / 2023
BC wildfire G70645 · 2023 · 25,066 ha
W Kiskatinaw River wildfire, 2023
The W Kiskatinaw River wildfire started on June 3, 2023, caused by lightning. It burned on through the winter and was declared out on August 14, 2024. Its mapped perimeter covers 25,066 ha (251 km²): the 22nd-largest of 2023's 119 large fires, and the 79th-largest in BC since 1990. It reached Tumbler Ridge, burning 2,012 ha there, 1% of the district municipality's land. The whole fire covered about 16% of the land area of Tumbler Ridge.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Peace River, Electoral Area D | 23,054 ha | 2% |
| Tumbler Ridge | 2,012 ha | 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.
- 2006Hourglass Creek wildfire8,166 ha in all121 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 | G70645 |
|---|---|
| Season | 2023 |
| Started | June 3, 2023 |
| Declared out | August 14, 2024 |
| Cause | Lightning |
| Area inside the perimeter | 25,066 ha (251 km²) |
| Location, as the province describes it | West Kiskatinaw 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: Stoddart Creek wildfire. Smaller: Wildfire R11282. Every large fire of 2023 · all seasons since 1990 · has my property burned?