How long did the Bulkley-Nechako E fire last?

It burned between 19 July 2024 and 11 October 2024: 85 days, according to the dates recorded by Canada’s CWFIS and the heat detections seen by satellite.

How much area did it burn?

The official perimeter mapped by Canada’s CWFIS (Natural Resources Canada) is 58,800 hectares (588.0 km²). Other tallies, such as those of provincial agencies, may give slightly different figures.

Which census subdivisions burned?

The fire only entered Bulkley-Nechako E (58,713 ha, 3.3 %).

What was the weather like?

During the fire the temperature reached 26.9 °C, humidity dropped to 25 % and gusts hit 77 km/h. The fire danger index (FWI) reached 16, class Moderate.

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.

CA · Canada · 2024-07-19 → 2024-10-11

Bulkley-Nechako E fire, 19 July 2024 Bulkley-Nechako E

Out · last detection 11 Oct 2024, 21:58 UTC

The fire started on 19 July 2024 in Bulkley-Nechako E, Canada, and satellites saw it burning for 85 days. Canada’s CWFIS (Natural Resources Canada) mapped an official burnt perimeter of 58,800 hectares from satellite imagery, spread across a single census subdivision.

It is the 24th largest in British Columbia since 2016 (of 448 with a page). Number 16 in Canada in 2024, of 291.

Compare with…

Suggestions: Bulkley-Nechako E · 2021 Bulkley-Nechako E · 2023 Bulkley-Nechako E · 2023 Bulkley-Nechako E · 2025

Burnt area: 58,800ha; official perimeter (CWFIS)
Duration: 85days; 19 Jul 2024 – 11 Oct 2024
Census subdivisions hit: 1; municipalities
Started on: 19 Jul; 2024
Heat detections: 9,694; in a single hotspot: 1,995 MW
Danger at start: 3; Very low · FWI index
Average daily power: 4.0GW; detected power per day, on average

HOTSPOTS BY DAY 19 Jul11 Oct

Play back 11 Oct 2024

How it evolved, day by day

20 Jul 3 Aug 10 Aug 17 Aug 25 Aug 2 Sept 6 Sept 9 Sept

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

The weather it burned in

27°high

77km/h · peak gust

25%lowest humidity

It had gone 18 days without rain (1 mm or more) when it started. Rain came after the fire: 13.1 mm on 13 Oct.

This area had burned before

1% of the perimeter overlaps earlier fires recorded since 2016: 618 ha in 2021, 7 ha in 2023.

How big is it?

It burned the equivalent of 37% of the area of London (588 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

Bulkley-Nechako E where it started

58,713 ha reached on 20 Jul

3.3 %

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)
19 Jul	21.0 °C	48 %	29 km/h	2.7 mm	Very low 3
20 Jul	26.9 °C	29 %	21 km/h	0.0 mm	Low 10
21 Jul	24.0 °C	43 %	45 km/h	0.0 mm	Moderate 14
22 Jul	18.1 °C	59 %	46 km/h	7.5 mm	Very low 1
23 Jul	13.6 °C	53 %	50 km/h	1.7 mm	Very low 3
24 Jul	13.0 °C	63 %	23 km/h	7.9 mm	Very low 0
25 Jul	17.0 °C	49 %	45 km/h	0.6 mm	Very low 1
26 Jul	15.4 °C	64 %	32 km/h	0.0 mm	Very low 2
27 Jul	19.9 °C	46 %	35 km/h	0.0 mm	Very low 5
28 Jul	15.6 °C	74 %	31 km/h	3.4 mm	Very low 0
29 Jul	16.3 °C	64 %	30 km/h	2.3 mm	Very low 0
30 Jul	17.2 °C	62 %	45 km/h	0.2 mm	Very low 2
31 Jul	16.1 °C	59 %	48 km/h	0.0 mm	Very low 3
1 Aug	19.8 °C	41 %	24 km/h	0.0 mm	Very low 5
2 Aug	23.1 °C	34 %	19 km/h	0.0 mm	Low 8
3 Aug	22.9 °C	31 %	19 km/h	0.0 mm	Low 10
4 Aug	23.2 °C	35 %	42 km/h	0.0 mm	Moderate 14
5 Aug	20.1 °C	40 %	32 km/h	0.0 mm	Moderate 13
6 Aug	21.1 °C	40 %	24 km/h	0.0 mm	Moderate 12
7 Aug	23.3 °C	36 %	18 km/h	0.0 mm	Moderate 12
8 Aug	24.9 °C	35 %	22 km/h	0.2 mm	Moderate 13
9 Aug	26.1 °C	32 %	20 km/h	0.6 mm	Moderate 13
10 Aug	24.2 °C	36 %	29 km/h	0.0 mm	Moderate 16
11 Aug	23.2 °C	49 %	21 km/h	0.1 mm	Moderate 14
12 Aug	22.1 °C	38 %	35 km/h	0.1 mm	Moderate 16
13 Aug	19.5 °C	48 %	33 km/h	1.7 mm	Very low 5
14 Aug	20.5 °C	35 %	24 km/h	0.0 mm	Low 10
15 Aug	18.0 °C	49 %	17 km/h	0.0 mm	Low 10
16 Aug	17.1 °C	60 %	23 km/h	3.9 mm	Very low 1
17 Aug	22.0 °C	41 %	22 km/h	0.0 mm	Very low 4
18 Aug	22.0 °C	34 %	39 km/h	0.1 mm	Moderate 12
19 Aug	18.1 °C	55 %	43 km/h	3.3 mm	Very low 3
20 Aug	17.6 °C	57 %	46 km/h	0.9 mm	Very low 4
21 Aug	13.7 °C	71 %	28 km/h	11.4 mm	Very low 0
22 Aug	19.1 °C	50 %	28 km/h	0.0 mm	Very low 1
23 Aug	19.0 °C	42 %	25 km/h	0.0 mm	Very low 2
24 Aug	18.2 °C	46 %	42 km/h	0.0 mm	Low 7
25 Aug	13.2 °C	70 %	48 km/h	4.0 mm	Very low 0
26 Aug	12.2 °C	79 %	31 km/h	10.9 mm	Very low 0
27 Aug	14.0 °C	44 %	46 km/h	0.4 mm	Very low 0
28 Aug	18.2 °C	50 %	34 km/h	0.0 mm	Very low 1
29 Aug	19.2 °C	41 %	38 km/h	0.0 mm	Very low 4
30 Aug	18.2 °C	54 %	41 km/h	0.0 mm	Low 6
31 Aug	23.1 °C	35 %	19 km/h	0.0 mm	Low 8
1 Sept	23.3 °C	33 %	26 km/h	0.0 mm	Low 10
2 Sept	17.8 °C	50 %	31 km/h	0.1 mm	Low 9
3 Sept	18.3 °C	43 %	32 km/h	0.0 mm	Low 9
4 Sept	22.9 °C	32 %	16 km/h	0.0 mm	Low 10
5 Sept	24.9 °C	25 %	33 km/h	0.0 mm	Moderate 16
6 Sept	21.6 °C	41 %	32 km/h	0.0 mm	Moderate 14
7 Sept	19.8 °C	58 %	24 km/h	1.5 mm	Very low 3
8 Sept	13.2 °C	82 %	30 km/h	6.9 mm	Very low 0
9 Sept	14.5 °C	46 %	31 km/h	0.0 mm	Very low 1
10 Sept	16.0 °C	44 %	21 km/h	0.1 mm	Very low 2
11 Sept	14.2 °C	54 %	23 km/h	0.3 mm	Very low 3
12 Sept	16.0 °C	52 %	26 km/h	0.7 mm	Very low 4
13 Sept	13.3 °C	69 %	40 km/h	2.7 mm	Very low 1
14 Sept	12.4 °C	70 %	26 km/h	6.1 mm	Very low 0
15 Sept	14.7 °C	50 %	33 km/h	0.0 mm	Very low 1
16 Sept	15.1 °C	64 %	44 km/h	1.1 mm	Very low 1
17 Sept	15.1 °C	67 %	40 km/h	1.3 mm	Very low 1
18 Sept	14.2 °C	46 %	36 km/h	0.1 mm	Very low 2
19 Sept	11.0 °C	59 %	54 km/h	2.0 mm	Very low 1
20 Sept	10.9 °C	51 %	32 km/h	1.6 mm	Very low 1
21 Sept	11.4 °C	81 %	54 km/h	7.1 mm	Very low 0
22 Sept	14.2 °C	67 %	46 km/h	3.5 mm	Very low 0
23 Sept	14.4 °C	82 %	45 km/h	15.7 mm	Very low 0
24 Sept	12.1 °C	87 %	42 km/h	20.6 mm	Very low 0
25 Sept	10.9 °C	55 %	41 km/h	1.2 mm	Very low 0
26 Sept	7.3 °C	65 %	46 km/h	13.2 mm	Very low 0
27 Sept	9.4 °C	59 %	77 km/h	8.2 mm	Very low 0
28 Sept	8.6 °C	58 %	24 km/h	0.1 mm	Very low 0
29 Sept	8.8 °C	52 %	43 km/h	1.0 mm	Very low 0
30 Sept	3.9 °C	88 %	33 km/h	12.5 mm	Very low 0
1 Oct	7.6 °C	67 %	64 km/h	7.4 mm	Very low 0
2 Oct	7.8 °C	79 %	40 km/h	5.7 mm	Very low 0
3 Oct	7.5 °C	73 %	23 km/h	2.5 mm	Very low 0
4 Oct	6.7 °C	78 %	36 km/h	9.0 mm	Very low 0
5 Oct	10.5 °C	68 %	60 km/h	1.6 mm	Very low 0
6 Oct	11.9 °C	75 %	39 km/h	7.1 mm	Very low 0
7 Oct	11.7 °C	78 %	37 km/h	11.8 mm	Very low 0
8 Oct	9.5 °C	52 %	61 km/h	6.2 mm	Very low 0
9 Oct	7.4 °C	59 %	38 km/h	0.4 mm	Very low 0
10 Oct	7.7 °C	55 %	26 km/h	0.0 mm	Very low 0
11 Oct	10.1 °C	52 %	18 km/h	0.0 mm	Very low 0
12 Oct after	13.0 °C	61 %	30 km/h	0.3 mm	Very low 0
13 Oct after	13.1 °C	68 %	60 km/h	13.1 mm	Very low 0

Before and after, from space

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

↔

Before · 12 Jul 2024

After · 18 Oct 2024

Before After

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 9 September 2024 the air beside the fire reached 592 µg/m³ of PM2.5. That day averaged 265: 18 times the WHO daily guideline (15).

PM2.5 peak592 µg/m³

Days over the guideline38 days

PM10848 µg/m³

Optical depth7.61

WHO 15

171819202122232425262728293031123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930311234567891011121314151617181920212223242526272829301234567891011121314

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 · 9,694Every 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 time	Satellite	FRP (MW)	Lat	Lon

Other fires nearby

All fires in Canada ›

Frequently asked questions

How long did the Bulkley-Nechako E fire last?: It burned between 19 July 2024 and 11 October 2024: 85 days, according to the dates recorded by Canada’s CWFIS and the heat detections seen by satellite.
How much area did it burn?: The official perimeter mapped by Canada’s CWFIS (Natural Resources Canada) is 58,800 hectares (588.0 km²). Other tallies, such as those of provincial agencies, may give slightly different figures.
Which census subdivisions burned?: The fire only entered Bulkley-Nechako E (58,713 ha, 3.3 %).
What was the weather like?: During the fire the temperature reached 26.9 °C, humidity dropped to 25 % and gusts hit 77 km/h. The fire danger index (FWI) reached 16, class Moderate.
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

NASA FIRMS ↗
CWFIS · Interactive map ↗

History of this page Changes in area, dates, name, official record or merged pages, compared every night since 24 October 2026.

No changes since 24 October 2026.

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.

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What do you think is wrong?

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What really happened?

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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 from the perimeter: the VIIRS detections inside it did not change them. 9,694 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.

Where it burned