PlaceDossier / BC places / Wildfires / 2026

BC wildfire C40983 · 2026 · 165,909 ha

Pear Lake wildfire, 2026

The Pear Lake wildfire started on July 17, 2026, caused by lightning. Its mapped perimeter covers 165,909 ha (1,659 km²): the largest of this season's 27 large fires, and the 12th-largest in BC since 1990. It reached Clinton, burning 458 ha there, 56% of the village's land. The whole fire covered about 202 times the land area of Clinton. This season's perimeter as last mapped on September 4, 2026 (status: under control); its size can still change.

A lot's report shows every mapped fire on it and within 2 km, with the lot drawn on the map.

Where it burned

Kelly Creek wildfire, 2009: 20,610 haHell Creek wildfire, 2009: 2,042 haOre Creek wildfire, 2009: 4,575 haElephant Hill wildfire, 2017: 192,017 haWild Goose Lake wildfire, 2018: 6,841 haWildfire C21250, 2021: 12,040 haWildfire C41602, 2021: 73,863 haMckay Creek wildfire, 2021: 44,964 haFrench Bar Creek wildfire, 2026: 61,051 ha200920182021Clinton N 020 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
Thompson-Nicola, Electoral Area E (Bonaparte Plateau)152,803 ha22%
Squamish-Lillooet, Electoral Area B11,324 ha3%
Thompson-Nicola, Electoral Area I (Blue Sky Country)584 haunder 1%
Clinton458 ha56%

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.

  1. 2009Kelly Creek wildfire20,610 ha in all289 ha shared
  2. 2017Elephant Hill wildfire192,017 ha in all13,719 ha shared
  3. 2018Wild Goose Lake wildfire6,841 ha in all3,134 ha shared
  4. 2021Wildfire C4160273,863 ha in all722 ha shared
  5. 2021Mckay Creek wildfire44,964 ha in all88 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 numberC40983
Season2026
StartedJuly 17, 2026
Declared outnot yet (under control)
CauseLightning
Area inside the perimeter165,909 ha (1,659 km²)
Location, as the province describes itE of Pear Lake
Perimeter mappedSeptember 4, 2026

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.

Smaller: Ainslie Creek wildfire. Every large fire of 2026 · all seasons since 1990 · has my property burned?