PlaceDossier / BC places / Wildfires / 2023
BC wildfire G92498 · 2023 · 275,175 ha
Ekwan Tower wildfire, 2023
The Ekwan Tower wildfire started on July 31, 2023, caused by lightning. It burned on through the winter and was declared out on August 28, 2024. Its mapped perimeter covers 275,175 ha (2,752 km²): the 4th-largest of 2023's 119 large fires, and the 7th-largest in BC since 1990. It reached Northern Rockies, burning 275,072 ha there, 3% of the mountain resort municipality's land. The whole fire covered a small fraction of the land area of Northern Rockies.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Northern Rockies | 275,072 ha | 3% |
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, and 1 later large fire burned into it again.
- 1990Wildfire G9002812,247 ha in all8,072 ha shared
- 2004Wildfire G9035212,583 ha in all12,093 ha shared
- 2005Wildfire G901515,778 ha in all1,041 ha shared
- 2012White Spruce Creek wildfire24,852 ha in all9,592 ha shared
- 2018Wildfire G9208417,897 ha in all10,033 ha shared
- 2025Wildfire G9047511,046 ha in all199 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 | G92498 |
|---|---|
| Season | 2023 |
| Started | July 31, 2023 |
| Declared out | August 28, 2024 |
| Cause | Lightning |
| Area inside the perimeter | 275,175 ha (2,752 km²) |
| Location, as the province describes it | 5mi NE of Ekwan Tower |
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 G90628. Smaller: Big Creek wildfire. Every large fire of 2023 · all seasons since 1990 · has my property burned?