PlaceDossier / BC places / Wildfires / 2023

BC wildfire N11805 · 2023 · 4,641 ha

St. Mary's River wildfire, 2023

The St. Mary's River wildfire started on July 17, 2023, caused by people. It was declared out on October 18, 2023. Its mapped perimeter covers 4,641 ha: the 67th-largest of 2023's 119 large fires, and the 328th-largest in BC since 1990. 5% of it was in East Kootenay, Electoral Area C. The nearest municipality, Cranbrook, is roughly 12 km away; the fire covered about 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

N 02 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
East Kootenay, Electoral Area C223 haunder 1%
East Kootenay, Electoral Area E182 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

No other fire of 1,000 ha or more since 1990 overlaps this one by 50 ha or more.

The record

Fire numberN11805
Season2023
StartedJuly 17, 2023
Declared outOctober 18, 2023
CausePeople
Area inside the perimeter4,641 ha
Location, as the province describes itSt Mary's 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: Wildfire G60858. Smaller: Peavine Creek wildfire. Every large fire of 2023 · all seasons since 1990 · has my property burned?