PlaceDossier / BC places / Wildfires / 2023
BC wildfire VA1381 · 2023 · 40,580 ha
Oppy Lake wildfire, 2023
The Oppy Lake wildfire started on July 7, 2023, caused by lightning. It was declared out on November 10, 2023. Its mapped perimeter covers 40,580 ha (406 km²): the 15th-largest of 2023's 119 large fires, and the 49th-largest in BC since 1990. 99% of it was in Bulkley-Nechako, Electoral Area E. The nearest municipality, Burns Lake, is roughly 129 km away; the fire covered about 54 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 | 40,001 ha | 2% |
| Cariboo, Electoral Area J | 579 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
5 earlier large fires had burned part of this ground.
- 2010Tweedsmuir Park wildfire4,274 ha in all3,593 ha shared
- 2010Wildfire C502876,273 ha in all542 ha shared
- 2014Chelaslie River wildfire133,101 ha in all1,735 ha shared
- 2018Wildfire R1231587,036 ha in all1,360 ha shared
- 2018Tweedsmuir Complex wildfire79,394 ha in all3,753 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 | VA1381 |
|---|---|
| Season | 2023 |
| Started | July 7, 2023 |
| Declared out | November 10, 2023 |
| Cause | Lightning |
| Area inside the perimeter | 40,580 ha (406 km²) |
| Location, as the province describes it | 0.8 KM S Oppy 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 G90273. Smaller: Ittsi Creek wildfire. Every large fire of 2023 · all seasons since 1990 · has my property burned?