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Cariboo I fire, June 2017 Cariboo I

Out · last detection 31 Aug 2017, 20:31 UTC

The fire started on 11 June 2017 in Cariboo I, Canada, and satellites saw it burning for 82 days. Canada’s CWFIS (Natural Resources Canada) mapped an official burnt perimeter of 17,159 hectares from satellite imagery, spread across a single census subdivision.

It is the 68th largest in British Columbia since 2016 (of 448 with a page). Number 31 in Canada in 2017, of 242.

Compare with…

Suggestions: Cariboo I · 2021Cariboo I · 2018Cariboo I · 2018Cariboo I · 2023

Burnt area
17,159ha
official perimeter (CWFIS)
Duration
82days
11 Jun 2017 – 31 Aug 2017
Census subdivisions hit
1
municipalities
Started on
11 Jun
2017
Heat detections
4,982
in a single hotspot: 561 MW
Danger at start
5
Low · FWI index
Average daily power
1.7GW
detected power per day, on average

Where it burned

HOTSPOTS BY DAY 11 Jun31 Aug
31 Aug 2017

How it evolved, day by day

11 Jun 2017 · 16 MW · 1 9 Jul 2017 · 2,021 MW · 20 11 Jul 2017 · 2,028 MW · 90 12 Jul 2017 · 6 MW · 1 13 Jul 2017 · 18 MW · 4 14 Jul 2017 · 311 MW · 13 15 Jul 2017 · 100 MW · 37 16 Jul 2017 · 138 MW · 25 17 Jul 2017 · 1,346 MW · 106 18 Jul 2017 · 644 MW · 136 19 Jul 2017 · 288 MW · 48 24 Jul 2017 · 34 MW · 5 25 Jul 2017 · 539 MW · 36 26 Jul 2017 · 13 MW · 9 27 Jul 2017 · 29 MW · 8 28 Jul 2017 · 5 MW · 2 30 Jul 2017 · 78 MW · 7 31 Jul 2017 · 1,340 MW · 62 1 Aug 2017 · 1,364 MW · 178 2 Aug 2017 · 3,633 MW · 190 3 Aug 2017 · 7,695 MW · 235 4 Aug 2017 · 19,210 MW · 729 5 Aug 2017 · 5,682 MW · 524 6 Aug 2017 · 4,361 MW · 460 7 Aug 2017 · 3,028 MW · 410 8 Aug 2017 · 3,998 MW · 342 9 Aug 2017 · 1,882 MW · 267 10 Aug 2017 · 3,693 MW · 268 11 Aug 2017 · 2,326 MW · 239 12 Aug 2017 · 883 MW · 35 14 Aug 2017 · 6 MW · 3 16 Aug 2017 · 12 MW · 1 17 Aug 2017 · 97 MW · 21 18 Aug 2017 · 70 MW · 7 19 Aug 2017 · 50 MW · 30 23 Aug 2017 · 27 MW · 4 24 Aug 2017 · 76 MW · 11 27 Aug 2017 · 4 MW · 2 28 Aug 2017 · 749 MW · 96 29 Aug 2017 · 554 MW · 112 30 Aug 2017 · 498 MW · 53 31 Aug 2017 · 1,715 MW · 155
11 Jun 15 Jul 25 Jul 1 Aug 4 Aug 7 Aug 14 Aug 24 Aug

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

The weather it burned in

31°high
61km/h · peak gust
16%lowest humidity

It had gone 0 days without rain (1 mm or more) when it started. Rain came after the fire: 1.4 mm on 1 Sept.

This area had burned before

No earlier perimeters overlap this fire since 2016, when the satellite record begins.

How big is it?

10 km
It burned the equivalent of 11% of the area of London (172 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. Cariboo I where it started
    17,221 ha reached on 11 Jun
    1.4 %

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 2015
Built-up area< 0.1 ha
Residents< 20

Inside the perimeter there was no noticeable built-up land and almost nobody lived there (GHSL 2015, 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.

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)
11 Jun 22.5 °C 36 % 40 km/h 0.0 mm Low 5
12 Jun 17.9 °C 28 % 33 km/h 0.0 mm Low 11
13 Jun 17.8 °C 27 % 31 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 14
14 Jun 14.5 °C 47 % 32 km/h 4.6 mm Very low 1
15 Jun 14.8 °C 46 % 56 km/h 1.6 mm Very low 4
16 Jun 16.7 °C 23 % 48 km/h 0.0 mm Low 10
17 Jun 17.2 °C 25 % 30 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 12
18 Jun 21.9 °C 22 % 29 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 16
19 Jun 19.3 °C 57 % 37 km/h 5.4 mm Very low 1
20 Jun 16.4 °C 24 % 59 km/h 0.6 mm Low 7
21 Jun 13.7 °C 40 % 56 km/h 0.7 mm Low 8
22 Jun 18.9 °C 26 % 32 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 13
23 Jun 22.9 °C 18 % 29 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 17
24 Jun 25.9 °C 19 % 21 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 18
25 Jun 28.5 °C 18 % 49 km/h 0.8 mm High 23
26 Jun 18.3 °C 31 % 58 km/h 3.1 mm Low 6
27 Jun 20.4 °C 32 % 43 km/h 0.5 mm Moderate 11
28 Jun 21.2 °C 37 % 34 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 14
29 Jun 24.9 °C 30 % 32 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 17
30 Jun 26.5 °C 21 % 18 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 21
1 Jul 23.5 °C 29 % 41 km/h 0.0 mm High 25
2 Jul 21.5 °C 38 % 43 km/h 2.5 mm Low 6
3 Jul 16.8 °C 31 % 43 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 13
4 Jul 20.7 °C 23 % 25 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 17
5 Jul 26.4 °C 19 % 28 km/h 0.0 mm High 25
6 Jul 29.1 °C 19 % 27 km/h 0.0 mm High 27
7 Jul 27.9 °C 23 % 48 km/h 0.5 mm High 34
8 Jul 24.7 °C 27 % 25 km/h 0.0 mm High 26
9 Jul 19.4 °C 27 % 52 km/h 1.3 mm Moderate 18
10 Jul 17.0 °C 35 % 27 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 17
11 Jul 20.2 °C 33 % 20 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 17
12 Jul 18.3 °C 44 % 29 km/h 4.6 mm Very low 2
13 Jul 18.1 °C 44 % 27 km/h 2.3 mm Very low 3
14 Jul 20.3 °C 35 % 23 km/h 0.2 mm Low 8
15 Jul 18.9 °C 43 % 42 km/h 2.3 mm Very low 5
16 Jul 14.4 °C 48 % 61 km/h 0.0 mm Low 10
17 Jul 19.5 °C 30 % 33 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 15
18 Jul 23.8 °C 25 % 20 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 18
19 Jul 22.6 °C 34 % 25 km/h 1.6 mm Low 9
20 Jul 16.2 °C 54 % 29 km/h 2.5 mm Very low 3
21 Jul 18.5 °C 43 % 31 km/h 0.0 mm Low 6
22 Jul 20.6 °C 47 % 36 km/h 3.7 mm Very low 3
23 Jul 16.0 °C 40 % 49 km/h 0.2 mm Low 8
24 Jul 24.2 °C 22 % 23 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 15
25 Jul 26.6 °C 22 % 20 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 21
26 Jul 22.6 °C 41 % 30 km/h 5.5 mm Very low 2
27 Jul 20.2 °C 33 % 39 km/h 0.0 mm Low 7
28 Jul 20.4 °C 39 % 23 km/h 0.3 mm Low 11
29 Jul 23.6 °C 37 % 35 km/h 1.6 mm Low 7
30 Jul 21.3 °C 29 % 35 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 15
31 Jul 23.0 °C 29 % 26 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 17
1 Aug 24.4 °C 23 % 21 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 19
2 Aug 27.8 °C 22 % 17 km/h 0.0 mm High 22
3 Aug 28.0 °C 16 % 42 km/h 0.0 mm High 32
4 Aug 26.0 °C 25 % 34 km/h 0.0 mm High 29
5 Aug 27.5 °C 20 % 22 km/h 0.0 mm High 26
6 Aug 28.9 °C 19 % 19 km/h 0.0 mm High 27
7 Aug 28.2 °C 24 % 23 km/h 0.0 mm High 29
8 Aug 28.2 °C 26 % 21 km/h 0.0 mm High 28
9 Aug 30.0 °C 22 % 23 km/h 0.0 mm High 29
10 Aug 30.8 °C 17 % 20 km/h 0.0 mm High 32
11 Aug 29.6 °C 22 % 32 km/h 0.0 mm High 37
12 Aug 26.9 °C 24 % 45 km/h 0.3 mm Very high 39
13 Aug 16.8 °C 41 % 45 km/h 3.6 mm Low 6
14 Aug 17.6 °C 34 % 31 km/h 0.0 mm Low 11
15 Aug 18.3 °C 33 % 32 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 17
16 Aug 19.8 °C 39 % 43 km/h 0.2 mm Moderate 20
17 Aug 22.3 °C 35 % 39 km/h 0.0 mm High 23
18 Aug 16.2 °C 35 % 61 km/h 0.6 mm High 23
19 Aug 17.1 °C 36 % 43 km/h 0.0 mm High 21
20 Aug 15.6 °C 68 % 19 km/h 7.2 mm Very low 0
21 Aug 19.9 °C 70 % 27 km/h 7.6 mm Very low 0
22 Aug 25.2 °C 44 % 27 km/h 5.1 mm Very low 1
23 Aug 22.3 °C 27 % 31 km/h 0.1 mm Low 5
24 Aug 15.4 °C 38 % 47 km/h 1.6 mm Very low 5
25 Aug 15.6 °C 46 % 24 km/h 0.0 mm Low 6
26 Aug 20.8 °C 44 % 33 km/h 0.4 mm Low 10
27 Aug 24.3 °C 40 % 38 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 13
28 Aug 24.2 °C 40 % 29 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 12
29 Aug 26.4 °C 24 % 31 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 17
30 Aug 21.5 °C 38 % 37 km/h 2.8 mm Very low 4
31 Aug 18.6 °C 34 % 34 km/h 0.0 mm Low 9
1 Sept after 19.0 °C 43 % 32 km/h 1.4 mm Very low 5

Before and after, from space

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

Before · 4 Jun 2017
After · 7 Sept 2017

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

Detections table · 4,982Every 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 Cariboo I fire last?
It burned between 11 June 2017 and 31 August 2017: 82 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 17,159 hectares (171.6 km²). Other tallies, such as those of provincial agencies, may give slightly different figures.
Which census subdivisions burned?
The fire only entered Cariboo I (17,221 ha, 1.4 %).
What was the weather like?
During the fire the temperature reached 30.8 °C, humidity dropped to 16 % and gusts hit 61 km/h. The fire danger index (FWI) reached 39, class Very 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 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.

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 from the perimeter: the VIIRS detections inside it did not change them. 4,982 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 2015, 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.