PlaceDossier / BC places / Wildfires / 2023
BC wildfire G80280 · 2023 · 619,073 ha
Donnie Creek wildfire, 2023
The Donnie Creek wildfire started on May 11, 2023, caused by lightning. It burned on through the winter and was declared out on August 30, 2024. Its mapped perimeter covers 619,073 ha (6,191 km²): the 2nd-largest of 2023's 119 large fires, and the 2nd-largest in BC since 1990. All of it was in Peace River, Electoral Area B. The nearest municipality, Fort St. John, is roughly 142 km away; the fire covered about 187 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Peace River, Electoral Area B | 619,073 ha | 7% |
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
10 earlier large fires had burned part of this ground, and 1 later large fire burned into it again.
- 1990Wildfire G8002223,767 ha in all4,953 ha shared
- 1991Wildfire G800131,815 ha in all1,813 ha shared
- 2006La Prise wildfire3,258 ha in all3,257 ha shared
- 2006Wildfire G803492,721 ha in all2,720 ha shared
- 2006Wildfire G803535,068 ha in all983 ha shared
- 2014Tommy Lakes wildfire4,069 ha in all4,068 ha shared
- 2018Wildfire G8034021,795 ha in all2,165 ha shared
- 2018Wildfire G8221523,150 ha in all4,064 ha shared
- 2021Beatton River wildfire3,359 ha in all1,990 ha shared
- 2021Wildfire G910203,470 ha in all53 ha shared
- 2025Heck Creek wildfire8,554 ha in all1,796 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 | G80280 |
|---|---|
| Season | 2023 |
| Started | May 11, 2023 |
| Declared out | August 30, 2024 |
| Cause | Lightning |
| Area inside the perimeter | 619,073 ha (6,191 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 G90288. Smaller: Wildfire G90628. Every large fire of 2023 · all seasons since 1990 · has my property burned?