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Cariboo K fire, 7 July 2017 Cariboo K, Stone 1, Baptiste Meadow 2

Out · last detection 30 Nov 2017, 22:05 UTC

The fire started on 7 July 2017 in Cariboo K, Canada, and satellites saw it burning for 146 days. Canada’s CWFIS (Natural Resources Canada) mapped an official burnt perimeter of 214,281 hectares from satellite imagery, spread across 4 census subdivisions.

It is the 5th largest in British Columbia since 2016 (of 448 with a page). Number 3 in Canada in 2017, of 242.

Compare with…
Burnt area
214,281ha
official perimeter (CWFIS)
Duration
146days
7 Jul 2017 – 29 Nov 2017
Census subdivisions hit
4
municipalities
Started on
7 Jul
2017
Heat detections
30,409
in a single hotspot: 1,263 MW
Danger at start
46
Very high · FWI index
Average daily power
6.9GW
detected power per day, on average

Where it burned

HOTSPOTS BY DAY 7 Jul29 Nov
30 Nov 2017

How it evolved, day by day

8 Jul 2017 · 13,373 MW · 980 9 Jul 2017 · 56,971 MW · 598 10 Jul 2017 · 6,455 MW · 1611 11 Jul 2017 · 5,206 MW · 396 12 Jul 2017 · 1,390 MW · 107 13 Jul 2017 · 1,854 MW · 318 14 Jul 2017 · 17,829 MW · 983 15 Jul 2017 · 54,306 MW · 1775 16 Jul 2017 · 10,921 MW · 1276 17 Jul 2017 · 20,847 MW · 1824 18 Jul 2017 · 29,051 MW · 2580 19 Jul 2017 · 19,751 MW · 2151 20 Jul 2017 · 14 MW · 12 23 Jul 2017 · 55 MW · 8 24 Jul 2017 · 311 MW · 37 25 Jul 2017 · 4,311 MW · 249 26 Jul 2017 · 691 MW · 275 27 Jul 2017 · 2,335 MW · 159 28 Jul 2017 · 2,775 MW · 256 29 Jul 2017 · 1,368 MW · 259 30 Jul 2017 · 9,582 MW · 494 31 Jul 2017 · 9,348 MW · 842 1 Aug 2017 · 9,054 MW · 934 2 Aug 2017 · 8,614 MW · 876 3 Aug 2017 · 7,020 MW · 812 4 Aug 2017 · 28,930 MW · 1270 5 Aug 2017 · 10,837 MW · 1141 6 Aug 2017 · 4,436 MW · 743 7 Aug 2017 · 5,063 MW · 733 8 Aug 2017 · 6,208 MW · 760 9 Aug 2017 · 8,934 MW · 834 10 Aug 2017 · 13,467 MW · 905 11 Aug 2017 · 29,490 MW · 1341 12 Aug 2017 · 42,843 MW · 864 13 Aug 2017 · 142 MW · 30 14 Aug 2017 · 779 MW · 173 15 Aug 2017 · 31 MW · 14 16 Aug 2017 · 4,552 MW · 243 17 Aug 2017 · 2,894 MW · 351 18 Aug 2017 · 1,339 MW · 223 19 Aug 2017 · 636 MW · 78 21 Aug 2017 · 133 MW · 25 22 Aug 2017 · 352 MW · 64 23 Aug 2017 · 62 MW · 10 24 Aug 2017 · 5 MW · 2 25 Aug 2017 · 41 MW · 4 26 Aug 2017 · 66 MW · 9 27 Aug 2017 · 111 MW · 29 28 Aug 2017 · 2,240 MW · 101 29 Aug 2017 · 9,894 MW · 335 31 Aug 2017 · 2,420 MW · 141 1 Sept 2017 · 3 MW · 3 2 Sept 2017 · 309 MW · 115 3 Sept 2017 · 2 MW · 1 5 Sept 2017 · 4 MW · 1 6 Sept 2017 · 2 MW · 3 7 Sept 2017 · 2 MW · 1 6 Oct 2017 · 2 MW · 1 26 Oct 2017 · 195 MW · 10 27 Oct 2017 · 164 MW · 7 30 Oct 2017 · 10 MW · 2 20 Nov 2017 · 4 MW · 1 22 Nov 2017 · 12 MW · 1 23 Nov 2017 · 242 MW · 14 24 Nov 2017 · 2 MW · 1 28 Nov 2017 · 55 MW · 2 29 Nov 2017 · 257 MW · 8 30 Nov 2017 · 97 MW · 3
8 Jul 9 Jul 18 Jul 30 Jul 9 Aug 19 Aug 31 Aug 30 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
74km/h · peak gust
12%lowest humidity

It had gone 16 days without rain (1 mm or more) when it started.

This area had burned before

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

How big is it?

20 km
It burned the equivalent of 1.4 times the area of London (2,143 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 K where it started
    213,191 ha reached on 8 Jul
    15 %
  2. Stone 1
    1,340 ha reached on 8 Jul
    85 %
  3. Baptiste Meadow 2
    133 ha reached on 16 Jul
    65 %
  4. Anahim's Flat 1
    2 ha reached on 19 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 2015
Built-up area2.8 ha
Residents≈ 150

Inside the perimeter there were about 2.8 hectares of built-up land and about 150 residents (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)
7 Jul 26.6 °C 16 % 54 km/h 0.1 mm Very high 46
8 Jul 24.9 °C 23 % 26 km/h 0.0 mm High 36
9 Jul 22.2 °C 21 % 45 km/h 0.2 mm Very high 40
10 Jul 15.8 °C 34 % 29 km/h 0.0 mm High 28
11 Jul 20.9 °C 25 % 20 km/h 0.0 mm High 24
12 Jul 20.9 °C 33 % 25 km/h 0.3 mm High 26
13 Jul 20.9 °C 25 % 30 km/h 0.2 mm High 29
14 Jul 23.2 °C 22 % 26 km/h 0.0 mm High 29
15 Jul 22.4 °C 19 % 54 km/h 0.2 mm Very high 38
16 Jul 14.7 °C 36 % 52 km/h 1.3 mm Moderate 15
17 Jul 18.1 °C 25 % 22 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 20
18 Jul 22.3 °C 21 % 23 km/h 0.0 mm High 26
19 Jul 22.3 °C 27 % 30 km/h 1.2 mm Moderate 18
20 Jul 12.5 °C 69 % 39 km/h 14.0 mm Very low 0
21 Jul 18.2 °C 40 % 27 km/h 0.0 mm Very low 4
22 Jul 21.2 °C 40 % 42 km/h 0.2 mm Low 11
23 Jul 15.7 °C 36 % 44 km/h 3.3 mm Very low 5
24 Jul 21.4 °C 26 % 20 km/h 0.0 mm Low 10
25 Jul 24.9 °C 21 % 24 km/h 0.0 mm High 21
26 Jul 23.6 °C 25 % 39 km/h 0.0 mm High 25
27 Jul 21.9 °C 30 % 42 km/h 0.7 mm Moderate 21
28 Jul 20.8 °C 33 % 21 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 17
29 Jul 24.4 °C 27 % 43 km/h 0.3 mm High 26
30 Jul 23.2 °C 24 % 34 km/h 0.0 mm High 27
31 Jul 23.4 °C 23 % 24 km/h 0.0 mm High 26
1 Aug 23.8 °C 24 % 23 km/h 0.0 mm High 25
2 Aug 26.7 °C 20 % 17 km/h 0.0 mm High 26
3 Aug 28.1 °C 16 % 38 km/h 0.0 mm High 36
4 Aug 24.0 °C 26 % 33 km/h 0.0 mm High 32
5 Aug 25.5 °C 22 % 19 km/h 0.0 mm High 30
6 Aug 27.2 °C 18 % 16 km/h 0.0 mm High 29
7 Aug 27.1 °C 19 % 22 km/h 0.0 mm High 33
8 Aug 26.8 °C 22 % 20 km/h 0.0 mm High 31
9 Aug 28.8 °C 19 % 18 km/h 0.0 mm High 32
10 Aug 29.5 °C 16 % 16 km/h 0.0 mm High 32
11 Aug 28.7 °C 17 % 28 km/h 0.0 mm High 38
12 Aug 25.5 °C 29 % 43 km/h 3.4 mm Low 10
13 Aug 16.5 °C 44 % 42 km/h 5.3 mm Very low 2
14 Aug 16.2 °C 32 % 25 km/h 0.0 mm Low 6
15 Aug 18.3 °C 30 % 21 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 12
16 Aug 21.8 °C 24 % 38 km/h 0.1 mm High 23
17 Aug 23.3 °C 24 % 38 km/h 0.0 mm High 25
18 Aug 17.9 °C 38 % 50 km/h 0.3 mm High 25
19 Aug 18.0 °C 27 % 31 km/h 0.0 mm High 23
20 Aug 16.9 °C 51 % 29 km/h 1.7 mm Very low 5
21 Aug 22.2 °C 41 % 23 km/h 2.1 mm Very low 4
22 Aug 24.5 °C 36 % 26 km/h 2.1 mm Low 5
23 Aug 21.8 °C 26 % 36 km/h 0.2 mm Moderate 16
24 Aug 14.9 °C 40 % 42 km/h 2.4 mm Very low 5
25 Aug 18.0 °C 30 % 20 km/h 0.0 mm Low 9
26 Aug 23.0 °C 28 % 32 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 19
27 Aug 25.4 °C 27 % 23 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 21
28 Aug 25.2 °C 31 % 24 km/h 0.0 mm High 22
29 Aug 28.4 °C 12 % 30 km/h 0.0 mm High 32
30 Aug 22.2 °C 31 % 36 km/h 0.3 mm High 29
31 Aug 18.9 °C 27 % 33 km/h 0.0 mm High 26
1 Sept 20.2 °C 31 % 27 km/h 0.0 mm High 25
2 Sept 23.2 °C 37 % 56 km/h 3.0 mm Low 10
3 Sept 20.0 °C 51 % 23 km/h 0.4 mm Low 10
4 Sept 22.9 °C 33 % 24 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 16
5 Sept 24.2 °C 33 % 24 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 18
6 Sept 24.2 °C 34 % 24 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 19
7 Sept 20.8 °C 48 % 24 km/h 1.4 mm Low 7
8 Sept 16.6 °C 76 % 25 km/h 11.4 mm Very low 0
9 Sept 14.9 °C 42 % 42 km/h 4.3 mm Very low 0
10 Sept 16.8 °C 40 % 32 km/h 0.0 mm Very low 3
11 Sept 19.1 °C 44 % 35 km/h 0.0 mm Low 7
12 Sept 13.1 °C 47 % 26 km/h 0.0 mm Low 8
13 Sept 12.4 °C 33 % 38 km/h 0.4 mm Low 10
14 Sept 14.7 °C 27 % 28 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 12
15 Sept 15.9 °C 28 % 17 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 13
16 Sept 17.0 °C 25 % 22 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 15
17 Sept 11.5 °C 44 % 45 km/h 6.5 mm Very low 1
18 Sept 8.0 °C 51 % 23 km/h 3.3 mm Very low 0
19 Sept 9.6 °C 38 % 20 km/h 0.0 mm Very low 1
20 Sept 5.0 °C 75 % 40 km/h 6.2 mm Very low 0
21 Sept 11.2 °C 34 % 35 km/h 0.0 mm Very low 1
22 Sept 9.8 °C 43 % 18 km/h 0.0 mm Very low 1
23 Sept 12.5 °C 59 % 20 km/h 0.0 mm Very low 1
24 Sept 15.8 °C 52 % 19 km/h 0.3 mm Very low 3
25 Sept 14.8 °C 54 % 19 km/h 2.6 mm Very low 1
26 Sept 18.0 °C 45 % 17 km/h 0.0 mm Very low 1
27 Sept 19.9 °C 39 % 20 km/h 0.0 mm Very low 5
28 Sept 20.9 °C 32 % 29 km/h 0.0 mm Low 8
29 Sept 15.3 °C 48 % 34 km/h 4.1 mm Very low 1
30 Sept 7.3 °C 58 % 39 km/h 1.0 mm Very low 1
1 Oct 7.1 °C 50 % 42 km/h 0.2 mm Very low 2
2 Oct 7.5 °C 32 % 36 km/h 0.0 mm Very low 4
3 Oct 9.0 °C 29 % 15 km/h 0.0 mm Very low 4
4 Oct 12.7 °C 26 % 18 km/h 0.0 mm Low 7
5 Oct 14.7 °C 31 % 13 km/h 0.0 mm Low 8
6 Oct 12.3 °C 37 % 74 km/h 1.7 mm Very low 4
7 Oct 5.7 °C 63 % 44 km/h 4.7 mm Very low 0
8 Oct 8.6 °C 40 % 31 km/h 0.1 mm Very low 1
9 Oct 9.7 °C 43 % 32 km/h 0.0 mm Very low 1
10 Oct 3.1 °C 78 % 35 km/h 10.6 mm Very low 0
11 Oct 0.8 °C 65 % 37 km/h 3.1 mm Very low 0
12 Oct 2.8 °C 45 % 16 km/h 0.0 mm Very low 0
13 Oct 1.3 °C 59 % 33 km/h 0.3 mm Very low 0
14 Oct 1.9 °C 72 % 16 km/h 4.1 mm Very low 0
15 Oct 9.4 °C 55 % 30 km/h 0.0 mm Very low 0
16 Oct 12.6 °C 60 % 31 km/h 3.1 mm Very low 0
17 Oct 6.1 °C 32 % 72 km/h 9.7 mm Very low 0
18 Oct 2.7 °C 70 % 45 km/h 6.5 mm Very low 0
19 Oct 8.4 °C 47 % 46 km/h 0.2 mm Very low 0
20 Oct 6.8 °C 38 % 33 km/h 0.2 mm Very low 0
21 Oct 4.1 °C 59 % 50 km/h 1.9 mm Very low 0
22 Oct 8.7 °C 33 % 60 km/h 0.0 mm Very low 0
23 Oct 7.2 °C 58 % 34 km/h 0.9 mm Very low 0
24 Oct 14.6 °C 51 % 37 km/h 0.0 mm Very low 1
25 Oct 8.1 °C 47 % 46 km/h 1.4 mm Very low 1
26 Oct 6.2 °C 56 % 15 km/h 0.0 mm Very low 0
27 Oct 9.6 °C 50 % 13 km/h 0.0 mm Very low 1
28 Oct 10.2 °C 58 % 23 km/h 0.0 mm Very low 1
29 Oct 6.4 °C 35 % 23 km/h 0.0 mm Very low 2
30 Oct 3.6 °C 44 % 15 km/h 0.0 mm Very low 2
31 Oct 6.2 °C 44 % 43 km/h 0.9 mm Very low 2
1 Nov 1.1 °C 57 % 40 km/h 2.2 mm Very low 0
2 Nov -4.6 °C 46 % 50 km/h 3.2 mm Very low 0
3 Nov -10.0 °C 38 % 37 km/h 0.0 mm Very low 0
4 Nov -11.2 °C 60 % 21 km/h 0.0 mm Very low 0
5 Nov -6.4 °C 39 % 20 km/h 0.0 mm Very low 0
6 Nov -7.2 °C 45 % 30 km/h 0.0 mm Very low 0
7 Nov -6.1 °C 61 % 25 km/h 0.0 mm Very low 0
8 Nov -4.5 °C 69 % 34 km/h 0.0 mm Very low 0
9 Nov -2.8 °C 69 % 29 km/h 0.7 mm Very low 0
10 Nov -0.3 °C 68 % 12 km/h 0.0 mm Very low 0
11 Nov -1.1 °C 81 % 36 km/h 0.0 mm Very low 0
12 Nov 1.2 °C 73 % 36 km/h 2.3 mm Very low 0
13 Nov 3.1 °C 72 % 40 km/h 2.8 mm Very low 0
14 Nov 1.0 °C 71 % 42 km/h 1.2 mm Very low 0
15 Nov 3.6 °C 41 % 57 km/h 0.5 mm Very low 0
16 Nov -0.6 °C 52 % 20 km/h 0.5 mm Very low 0
17 Nov -2.7 °C 58 % 20 km/h 0.0 mm Very low 0
18 Nov 0.7 °C 56 % 33 km/h 0.0 mm Very low 0
19 Nov 1.6 °C 79 % 32 km/h 9.9 mm Very low 0
20 Nov -0.1 °C 63 % 22 km/h 0.0 mm Very low 0
21 Nov -2.7 °C 89 % 38 km/h 3.0 mm Very low 0
22 Nov 4.6 °C 88 % 44 km/h 2.4 mm Very low 0
23 Nov 6.1 °C 50 % 32 km/h 0.3 mm Very low 0
24 Nov 3.1 °C 60 % 36 km/h 0.0 mm Very low 0
25 Nov 4.4 °C 60 % 37 km/h 0.9 mm Very low 0
26 Nov 6.1 °C 40 % 56 km/h 6.4 mm Very low 0
27 Nov 0.9 °C 36 % 52 km/h 0.0 mm Very low 0
28 Nov 3.4 °C 41 % 41 km/h 0.6 mm Very low 0
29 Nov 2.1 °C 48 % 36 km/h 0.0 mm Very low 0
30 Nov after 2.5 °C 59 % 22 km/h 0.1 mm Very low 0
1 Dec after 1.8 °C 51 % 28 km/h 0.0 mm Very low 0
2 Dec after -3.2 °C 69 % 14 km/h 0.0 mm Very low 0
3 Dec after -4.2 °C 45 % 25 km/h 0.0 mm Very low 0
4 Dec after -2.7 °C 44 % 15 km/h 0.0 mm Very low 0
5 Dec after 0.3 °C 61 % 16 km/h 0.0 mm Very low 0
6 Dec after -1.5 °C 73 % 12 km/h 0.0 mm Very low 0
7 Dec after -3.2 °C 73 % 15 km/h 0.0 mm Very low 0
8 Dec after -3.0 °C 67 % 14 km/h 0.0 mm Very low 0
9 Dec after -3.0 °C 68 % 27 km/h 0.0 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 2017
After · 6 Dec 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 · 30,409Every 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

Frequently asked questions

How long did the Cariboo K fire last?
It burned between 7 July 2017 and 29 November 2017: 146 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 214,281 hectares (2,142.8 km²). Other tallies, such as those of provincial agencies, may give slightly different figures.
Which census subdivisions burned?
The fire entered 4 census subdivisions: Cariboo K (213,191 ha, 15 %); Stone 1 (1,340 ha, 85 %); Baptiste Meadow 2 (133 ha, 65 %); Anahim's Flat 1 (2 ha, 0.0 %).
What was the weather like?
During the fire the temperature reached 29.5 °C, humidity dropped to 12 % and gusts hit 74 km/h. The fire danger index (FWI) reached 46, 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. 30,409 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.