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Bulkley-Nechako E fire, 7 July 2023 Bulkley-Nechako E, Cariboo J

Out · last detection 15 Oct 2023, 21:47 UTC

The fire started on 7 July 2023 in Bulkley-Nechako E, Canada, and satellites saw it burning for 101 days. Canada’s CWFIS (Natural Resources Canada) mapped an official burnt perimeter of 33,254 hectares from satellite imagery, spread across 2 census subdivisions.

It is the 41th largest in British Columbia since 2016 (of 448 with a page). Number 70 in Canada in 2023, of 489.

Compare with…

Suggestions: Cariboo J · 2018Cariboo J · 2018Cariboo J · 2023Cariboo J · 2018

Burnt area
33,254ha
official perimeter (CWFIS)
Duration
101days
7 Jul 2023 – 15 Oct 2023
Census subdivisions hit
2
municipalities
Started on
7 Jul
2023
Heat detections
7,187
in a single hotspot: 512 MW
Danger at start
4
Very low · FWI index
Average daily power
1.7GW
detected power per day, on average

Where it burned

HOTSPOTS BY DAY 7 Jul15 Oct
15 Oct 2023

How it evolved, day by day

9 Jul 2023 · 8 MW · 1 10 Jul 2023 · 9 MW · 2 11 Jul 2023 · 3,812 MW · 64 12 Jul 2023 · 1,123 MW · 201 13 Jul 2023 · 468 MW · 120 14 Jul 2023 · 61 MW · 8 15 Jul 2023 · 208 MW · 61 16 Jul 2023 · 264 MW · 68 17 Jul 2023 · 7,965 MW · 247 18 Jul 2023 · 986 MW · 214 19 Jul 2023 · 1,096 MW · 162 20 Jul 2023 · 4,902 MW · 250 21 Jul 2023 · 902 MW · 207 22 Jul 2023 · 21 MW · 15 2 Aug 2023 · 8 MW · 1 3 Aug 2023 · 3 MW · 2 4 Aug 2023 · 148 MW · 13 5 Aug 2023 · 5,477 MW · 128 6 Aug 2023 · 432 MW · 84 7 Aug 2023 · 107 MW · 23 10 Aug 2023 · 22 MW · 9 12 Aug 2023 · 63 MW · 14 13 Aug 2023 · 4,175 MW · 124 14 Aug 2023 · 3,983 MW · 464 15 Aug 2023 · 560 MW · 46 16 Aug 2023 · 12,765 MW · 778 17 Aug 2023 · 15,896 MW · 778 18 Aug 2023 · 1,089 MW · 198 19 Aug 2023 · 3,116 MW · 209 20 Aug 2023 · 1,953 MW · 300 21 Aug 2023 · 14,313 MW · 261 22 Aug 2023 · 1,370 MW · 249 23 Aug 2023 · 308 MW · 46 24 Aug 2023 · 121 MW · 18 25 Aug 2023 · 2,280 MW · 79 26 Aug 2023 · 6,062 MW · 247 27 Aug 2023 · 4,711 MW · 380 28 Aug 2023 · 2,938 MW · 385 29 Aug 2023 · 3 MW · 3 1 Sept 2023 · 474 MW · 18 2 Sept 2023 · 6,068 MW · 119 3 Sept 2023 · 2,183 MW · 232 4 Sept 2023 · 110 MW · 40 7 Sept 2023 · 1 MW · 1 8 Sept 2023 · 24 MW · 3 9 Sept 2023 · 50 MW · 9 10 Sept 2023 · 1,373 MW · 43 11 Sept 2023 · 51 MW · 12 14 Sept 2023 · 11 MW · 3 15 Sept 2023 · 502 MW · 63 16 Sept 2023 · 87 MW · 19 17 Sept 2023 · 64 MW · 9 18 Sept 2023 · 14 MW · 7 21 Sept 2023 · 15 MW · 3 22 Sept 2023 · 85 MW · 10 23 Sept 2023 · 33 MW · 8 24 Sept 2023 · 64 MW · 4 28 Sept 2023 · 5 MW · 2 29 Sept 2023 · 2 MW · 2 30 Sept 2023 · 2 MW · 2 4 Oct 2023 · 1 MW · 1 7 Oct 2023 · 2 MW · 1 8 Oct 2023 · 149 MW · 20 9 Oct 2023 · 421 MW · 55 10 Oct 2023 · 56 MW · 25 12 Oct 2023 · 15 MW · 1 13 Oct 2023 · 11 MW · 7 14 Oct 2023 · 31 MW · 7 15 Oct 2023 · 10 MW · 2
9 Jul 19 Jul 10 Aug 17 Aug 21 Aug 2 Sept 16 Sept 4 Oct

Fire radiative power detected each day, in megawatts, and number of hotspots. The magenta bar marks the peak day.

The weather it burned in

30°high
68km/h · peak gust
17%lowest humidity

It had gone 0 days without rain (1 mm or more) when it started. Rain came after the fire: 4.4 mm on 16 Oct.

This area had burned before

5% of the perimeter overlaps earlier fires recorded since 2016: 1,672 ha in 2018.

How big is it?

10 km
It burned the equivalent of 21% of the area of London (333 km² against 1,583 km²).

London boundary: geoBoundaries · Office for National Statistics (Open Government Licence v3.0).

This compares size, not location: both shapes are at the same scale, north up, centred on each other.

What happened to each census subdivision

  1. Bulkley-Nechako E where it started
    32,144 ha reached on 10 Jul
    1.8 %
  2. Cariboo J
    742 ha reached on 9 Jul
    0.0 %

Burnt area inside each census subdivision, from crossing the official perimeter with administrative boundaries. The distance runs from the point marking the centre of each area to the nearest fire: staying a kilometre away does not mean it reached the houses.

People and buildings inside the perimeter

GHSL 2025
Built-up area< 0.1 ha
Residents< 20

Inside the perimeter there was no noticeable built-up land and almost nobody lived there (GHSL 2025, satellite-based estimate).

This is an estimate on 100 m cells, made from satellite imagery and census data: it does not mean that homes burned or that anyone was harmed. The perimeter also contains land that never burned. The GHSL 2025 epoch is a projection made from 2020 and earlier data.

Source: Global Human Settlement Layer (GHS-BUILT-S and GHS-POP R2023A), European Commission Joint Research Centre (JRC), © European Union, CC BY 4.0. Sum inside the perimeter computed by WorldFires. human-settlement.emergency.copernicus.eu

The weather day by day

ECMWF ERA5 reanalysis at the fire location, the standard reference for past weather, and the Canadian Fire Weather Index (the same system Copernicus uses), computed by WorldFires from that data. Days after the fire run until the first rain.

Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0) · Copernicus Climate Change Service (ERA5)

Day High Min. humidity Peak gust Rain Danger (FWI)
7 Jul 25.2 °C 37 % 32 km/h 3.5 mm Very low 4
8 Jul 26.6 °C 36 % 28 km/h 1.3 mm Low 8
9 Jul 24.5 °C 47 % 30 km/h 3.8 mm Very low 3
10 Jul 24.1 °C 41 % 33 km/h 1.7 mm Very low 5
11 Jul 23.1 °C 30 % 37 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 14
12 Jul 23.9 °C 30 % 26 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 17
13 Jul 23.4 °C 37 % 28 km/h 0.1 mm Moderate 17
14 Jul 21.5 °C 53 % 20 km/h 1.4 mm Low 6
15 Jul 22.8 °C 47 % 31 km/h 2.8 mm Very low 3
16 Jul 19.2 °C 49 % 36 km/h 4.5 mm Very low 1
17 Jul 17.6 °C 52 % 48 km/h 3.8 mm Very low 1
18 Jul 19.7 °C 52 % 32 km/h 0.0 mm Very low 3
19 Jul 25.6 °C 40 % 18 km/h 2.4 mm Very low 2
20 Jul 28.3 °C 32 % 29 km/h 1.7 mm Low 6
21 Jul 21.3 °C 56 % 26 km/h 3.0 mm Very low 1
22 Jul 18.2 °C 53 % 37 km/h 5.2 mm Very low 1
23 Jul 16.3 °C 58 % 20 km/h 4.8 mm Very low 0
24 Jul 17.1 °C 61 % 24 km/h 11.1 mm Very low 0
25 Jul 12.1 °C 72 % 39 km/h 4.4 mm Very low 0
26 Jul 19.3 °C 44 % 35 km/h 0.0 mm Very low 0
27 Jul 18.4 °C 49 % 32 km/h 0.0 mm Very low 1
28 Jul 21.3 °C 44 % 33 km/h 0.4 mm Very low 4
29 Jul 21.7 °C 48 % 28 km/h 8.0 mm Very low 0
30 Jul 19.9 °C 44 % 34 km/h 0.6 mm Very low 1
31 Jul 19.0 °C 48 % 34 km/h 0.6 mm Very low 3
1 Aug 19.4 °C 48 % 27 km/h 2.6 mm Very low 1
2 Aug 19.0 °C 39 % 32 km/h 0.1 mm Very low 2
3 Aug 23.5 °C 28 % 18 km/h 0.0 mm Low 7
4 Aug 26.0 °C 30 % 18 km/h 0.0 mm Low 10
5 Aug 28.1 °C 30 % 21 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 12
6 Aug 24.1 °C 52 % 26 km/h 1.8 mm Very low 3
7 Aug 22.3 °C 46 % 35 km/h 1.2 mm Very low 4
8 Aug 17.4 °C 74 % 23 km/h 3.1 mm Very low 0
9 Aug 17.2 °C 57 % 41 km/h 0.9 mm Very low 2
10 Aug 17.7 °C 53 % 36 km/h 0.1 mm Very low 4
11 Aug 16.4 °C 66 % 38 km/h 3.6 mm Very low 1
12 Aug 22.7 °C 52 % 31 km/h 0.1 mm Very low 2
13 Aug 27.7 °C 35 % 38 km/h 0.0 mm Low 10
14 Aug 27.9 °C 39 % 35 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 12
15 Aug 26.8 °C 35 % 48 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 16
16 Aug 29.5 °C 30 % 34 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 17
17 Aug 23.1 °C 28 % 45 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 20
18 Aug 17.6 °C 36 % 32 km/h 0.8 mm Low 11
19 Aug 21.5 °C 28 % 23 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 13
20 Aug 20.2 °C 35 % 16 km/h 0.3 mm Moderate 14
21 Aug 23.6 °C 27 % 44 km/h 0.5 mm Moderate 19
22 Aug 20.8 °C 39 % 31 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 17
23 Aug 18.6 °C 52 % 34 km/h 3.3 mm Very low 3
24 Aug 22.2 °C 39 % 33 km/h 0.0 mm Low 7
25 Aug 23.8 °C 34 % 26 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 12
26 Aug 25.9 °C 28 % 19 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 16
27 Aug 28.8 °C 17 % 17 km/h 0.0 mm High 23
28 Aug 29.4 °C 27 % 25 km/h 0.8 mm Moderate 20
29 Aug 19.9 °C 64 % 31 km/h 0.5 mm Moderate 13
30 Aug 19.0 °C 42 % 35 km/h 0.5 mm Moderate 15
31 Aug 19.2 °C 45 % 30 km/h 0.5 mm Moderate 15
1 Sept 25.7 °C 31 % 31 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 20
2 Sept 25.0 °C 25 % 40 km/h 0.0 mm High 26
3 Sept 19.5 °C 29 % 36 km/h 0.1 mm High 24
4 Sept 16.0 °C 50 % 34 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 18
5 Sept 11.9 °C 70 % 17 km/h 7.9 mm Very low 0
6 Sept 14.5 °C 59 % 27 km/h 1.9 mm Very low 0
7 Sept 17.6 °C 36 % 22 km/h 0.0 mm Very low 3
8 Sept 21.1 °C 26 % 15 km/h 0.0 mm Low 9
9 Sept 24.5 °C 25 % 19 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 14
10 Sept 24.1 °C 32 % 35 km/h 0.5 mm Moderate 19
11 Sept 19.2 °C 45 % 31 km/h 1.3 mm Low 7
12 Sept 15.9 °C 62 % 36 km/h 1.7 mm Very low 4
13 Sept 15.9 °C 43 % 33 km/h 0.0 mm Low 7
14 Sept 23.3 °C 22 % 24 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 15
15 Sept 17.5 °C 45 % 68 km/h 0.0 mm High 24
16 Sept 17.8 °C 44 % 39 km/h 0.1 mm Moderate 16
17 Sept 14.8 °C 63 % 51 km/h 4.9 mm Very low 2
18 Sept 12.6 °C 52 % 45 km/h 0.2 mm Very low 4
19 Sept 11.0 °C 66 % 47 km/h 2.1 mm Very low 2
20 Sept 16.1 °C 42 % 17 km/h 0.0 mm Very low 3
21 Sept 21.3 °C 34 % 17 km/h 0.0 mm Low 8
22 Sept 20.0 °C 33 % 36 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 14
23 Sept 13.6 °C 62 % 34 km/h 5.7 mm Very low 0
24 Sept 17.6 °C 30 % 41 km/h 0.0 mm Very low 4
25 Sept 15.5 °C 49 % 41 km/h 1.8 mm Very low 3
26 Sept 14.3 °C 53 % 34 km/h 0.6 mm Very low 4
27 Sept 13.8 °C 50 % 26 km/h 1.6 mm Very low 2
28 Sept 10.6 °C 56 % 27 km/h 4.2 mm Very low 0
29 Sept 11.6 °C 56 % 16 km/h 0.1 mm Very low 1
30 Sept 14.1 °C 41 % 19 km/h 0.0 mm Very low 2
1 Oct 12.2 °C 72 % 35 km/h 1.6 mm Very low 1
2 Oct 12.6 °C 55 % 38 km/h 0.5 mm Very low 3
3 Oct 12.5 °C 68 % 48 km/h 0.0 mm Very low 4
4 Oct 11.3 °C 71 % 30 km/h 0.6 mm Very low 3
5 Oct 18.2 °C 57 % 21 km/h 0.3 mm Very low 4
6 Oct 20.5 °C 43 % 21 km/h 0.0 mm Low 7
7 Oct 23.0 °C 31 % 19 km/h 0.0 mm Low 11
8 Oct 19.4 °C 38 % 38 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 14
9 Oct 15.0 °C 52 % 35 km/h 2.9 mm Very low 2
10 Oct 11.6 °C 59 % 21 km/h 2.3 mm Very low 0
11 Oct 14.0 °C 54 % 20 km/h 0.0 mm Very low 1
12 Oct 16.2 °C 42 % 17 km/h 0.0 mm Very low 3
13 Oct 14.4 °C 44 % 18 km/h 0.0 mm Very low 5
14 Oct 15.2 °C 44 % 21 km/h 0.1 mm Low 6
15 Oct 14.6 °C 49 % 28 km/h 1.3 mm Very low 3
16 Oct after 12.7 °C 68 % 24 km/h 4.4 mm Very low 0

Before and after, from space

Drag the line to compare the same ground before the fire and after it.

Before · 30 Jun 2023
After · 22 Oct 2023

If the day is cloudy, change the date: each satellite passes once a day. In false colour the burnt ground looks brown or red.

The smoke

CAMS · Copernicus

On 19 August 2023 the air beside the fire reached 1,050 µg/m³ of PM2.5. That day averaged 508: 34 times the WHO daily guideline (15).

PM2.5 peak1,050 µg/m³
Days over the guideline49 days
PM101,501 µg/m³
Optical depth7.73
567891011121314151617181920212223242526272829303112345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930123456789101112
Good Fair Moderate Poor Very poor Extremely poor

Particles from the Copernicus CAMS model at the centre of the perimeter; these are not measurements in each town. The pale bar is the worst hour, the solid one the daily average.

Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0) · Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS)

Detections table · 7,187Every satellite heat detection, one by one, with time, satellite, power and coordinates.
⬇ Download CSV Times in UTC. Each detection is a 375 m pixel: a large fire yields hundreds per pass.
Date and timeSatelliteFRP (MW)LatLon

Other fires nearby

All fires in Canada ›

Frequently asked questions

How long did the Bulkley-Nechako E fire last?
According to the heat detections seen by satellite inside the perimeter, it burned from 7 July 2023 to 15 October 2023 (101 days). The perimeter dates it from 7 July 2023 to 9 October 2023.
How much area did it burn?
The official perimeter mapped by Canada’s CWFIS (Natural Resources Canada) is 33,254 hectares (332.5 km²). Other tallies, such as those of provincial agencies, may give slightly different figures.
Which census subdivisions burned?
The fire entered 2 census subdivisions: Bulkley-Nechako E (32,144 ha, 1.8 %); Cariboo J (742 ha, 0.0 %).
What was the weather like?
During the fire the temperature reached 29.5 °C, humidity dropped to 17 % and gusts hit 68 km/h. The fire danger index (FWI) reached 26, class High.
Where does this data come from?
From the official burnt perimeter of Canada’s CWFIS (NBAC, Natural Resources Canada) or, for the current season and until NBAC publishes it, the one rebuilt by GWIS (Copernicus); from NASA FIRMS VIIRS hotspots; and from the administrative boundaries of Canada. It is not an official report.

Where to verify it

A satellite detection is not an official report. Final figures and the fire’s status are published by each country’s emergency service.

Emergency number: 911 · Emergency number and official warnings ›

Satellite cross-check

History of this page · 1 Changes in area, dates, name, official record or merged pages, compared every night since 24 October 2026.
  1. Last day with fire: 9 October 2023 → 15 October 2023.

RSS Changes to this page

Does something look wrong on this page?

This page is built from satellite data and official records, and it sometimes gets things wrong: the wrong dates, the wrong town, two fires merged into one, or something that was not a wildfire at all. If you know this fire first-hand (you live nearby, saw it, fought it or reported on it), tell us what really happened and we will check it.

Report an error
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We will only use your email to reply about this report. Privacy. This is not an emergency service: if there is a fire now, call 911.

How we know this
  • Perimeter: NBAC (Natural Resources Canada), official.
  • Dates adjusted with the VIIRS detections inside the perimeter, which said 7 July 2023 to 9 October 2023. 7,187 Suomi-NPP VIIRS detections on those dates.
  • We have not matched this page with any official record.
  • Weather: Copernicus ERA5 reanalysis at the fire location, in cells of about 25 km.
  • Built-up area and population come from the JRC Global Human Settlement Layer (epoch 2025, 100 m cells), summed inside the perimeter: an estimate of what was there, not a damage count.

How we build fire pages: methodology ›

Where this data comes from

The perimeter is official: it comes from the National Burned Area Composite (NBAC) of the Canadian Wildland Fire Information System (CWFIS), Natural Resources Canada, which maps it on satellite imagery and publishes it under the Open Government Licence – Canada. Until NBAC publishes the current season, this year’s fires carry the perimeter rebuilt from heat detections by GWIS (Copernicus, CC BY 4.0), which is approximate. Heat detections come from the VIIRS sensors aboard Suomi-NPP and NOAA-20, distributed by NASA FIRMS at 375 m resolution. Census subdivision boundaries come from geoBoundaries ADM3 (Open Data Commons Open Database License 1.0). The area per census subdivision is computed by WorldFires by crossing the perimeter with those boundaries, so it may differ slightly from official figures.