PlaceDossier / BC places / Wildfires / 2023
BC wildfire R11387 · 2023 · 12,142 ha
Wells Creek wildfire, 2023
The Wells Creek wildfire started on July 8, 2023, caused by lightning. It burned on through the winter and was declared out on February 5, 2024. Its mapped perimeter covers 12,142 ha (121 km²): the 39th-largest of 2023's 119 large fires, and the 159th-largest in BC since 1990. All of it was in Bulkley-Nechako, Electoral Area E. The nearest municipality, Burns Lake, is roughly 60 km away; the fire covered about 16 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Bulkley-Nechako, Electoral Area E | 12,142 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
1 later large fire burned into it again.
- 2024Wildfire R1123955,287 ha in all63 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 | R11387 |
|---|---|
| Season | 2023 |
| Started | July 8, 2023 |
| Declared out | February 5, 2024 |
| Cause | Lightning |
| Area inside the perimeter | 12,142 ha (121 km²) |
| Location, as the province describes it | 14.6 km N of Ghitezli Lake |
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 G92947. Smaller: Wildfire G90956. Every large fire of 2023 · all seasons since 1990 · has my property burned?