PlaceDossier / BC places / Wildfires / 2023

BC wildfire R11282 · 2023 · 24,811 ha

Wildfire R11282, 2023

Wildfire R11282 started on July 7, 2023, caused by lightning. It burned on through the winter and was declared out on January 25, 2024. Its mapped perimeter covers 24,811 ha (248 km²): the 23rd-largest of 2023's 119 large fires, and the 82nd-largest in BC since 1990. All of it was in Bulkley-Nechako, Electoral Area E. The nearest municipality, Fraser Lake, is roughly 80 km away; the fire covered about 46 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

Wildfire R10165, 2009: 1,060 haBinta Lake wildfire, 2010: 39,073 haChelaslie River wildfire, 2014: 133,101 haWildfire R11683, 2018: 8,100 haWildfire R11796, 2018: 50,270 haWildfire R12068, 2018: 53,287 haWildfire R12270, 2018: 9,253 haWildfire R12315, 2018: 87,036 haChief Louis Lake wildfire, 2021: 20,886 haNorth Lucas Lake wildfire, 2023: 34,826 haWells Creek wildfire, 2023: 12,142 haOppy Lake wildfire, 2023: 40,580 haMichel Creek wildfire, 2024: 33,446 haWildfire R11239, 2024: 55,287 ha20092018 N 010 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
Bulkley-Nechako, Electoral Area E24,811 ha1%

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

3 earlier large fires had burned part of this ground.

  1. 2009Wildfire R101651,060 ha in all161 ha shared
  2. 2018Wildfire R122709,253 ha in all5,360 ha shared
  3. 2021Chief Louis Lake wildfire20,886 ha in all192 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 numberR11282
Season2023
StartedJuly 7, 2023
Declared outJanuary 25, 2024
CauseLightning
Area inside the perimeter24,811 ha (248 km²)
Location, as the province describes it6km N of Chelaslie 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: W Kiskatinaw River wildfire. Smaller: Wildfire G90981. Every large fire of 2023 · all seasons since 1990 · has my property burned?