PlaceDossier / BC places / Wildfires / 2023
BC wildfire N40596 · 2023 · 1,160 ha
Wildfire N40596, 2023
Wildfire N40596 started on May 20, 2023, caused by lightning. It was declared out on October 19, 2023. Its mapped perimeter covers 1,160 ha: the 112th-largest of 2023's 119 large fires, and the 699th-largest in BC since 1990. All of it was in Columbia-Shuswap, Electoral Area B. The nearest municipality, Valemount, is roughly 96 km away; the fire covered about 2 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Columbia-Shuswap, Electoral Area B | 1,160 ha | under 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 number | N40596 |
|---|---|
| Season | 2023 |
| Started | May 20, 2023 |
| Declared out | October 19, 2023 |
| Cause | Lightning |
| Area inside the perimeter | 1,160 ha |
| Location, as the province describes it | Soards Creek |
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: Angel Lake wildfire. Smaller: Wildfire G41560. Every large fire of 2023 · all seasons since 1990 · has my property burned?