How long did the Peace River E fire last?

It burned between 22 August 2022 and 18 October 2022: 58 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 1,794 hectares (17.9 km²). Other tallies, such as those of provincial agencies, may give slightly different figures.

Which census subdivisions burned?

The fire only entered Peace River E (1,804 ha, 0.1 %).

What was the weather like?

During the fire the temperature reached 29.9 °C, humidity dropped to 23 % and gusts hit 85 km/h. The fire danger index (FWI) reached 20, 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 · 2022-08-22 → 2022-10-18

Peace River E fire, 22 August 2022 Peace River E

Out · last detection 18 Oct 2022, 21:35 UTC

The fire started on 22 August 2022 in Peace River E, Canada, and satellites saw it burning for 58 days. Canada’s CWFIS (Natural Resources Canada) mapped an official burnt perimeter of 1,794 hectares from satellite imagery, spread across a single census subdivision.

It is the 317th largest in British Columbia since 2016 (of 448 with a page). Number 131 in Canada in 2022, of 197.

Burnt area: 1,794ha; official perimeter (CWFIS)
Duration: 58days; 22 Aug 2022 – 18 Oct 2022
Municipalities hit: 1; municipalities
Started on: 22 Aug; 2022
Heat detections: 240; in a single hotspot: 153 MW
Danger at start: 15; Moderate · FWI index
Energy released: 2.4GW; sum of detected power

Play back 18 Oct 2022

HOTSPOTS BY DAY 22 Aug18 Oct

How it evolved, day by day

23263121415101112131415161718

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

85km/h · peak gust

23%lowest humidity

It had gone 6 days without rain (1 mm or more) when it started. Rain came after the fire: 2.9 mm on 19 Oct.

This area had burned before

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

What happened to each town

Peace River E where it started

1,804 ha reached on 23 Aug

0.1 %

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

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)
22 Aug	27.1 °C	34 %	17 km/h	0.0 mm	Moderate 15
23 Aug	27.6 °C	39 %	29 km/h	0.1 mm	Moderate 16
24 Aug	28.5 °C	32 %	27 km/h	0.0 mm	Moderate 17
25 Aug	29.9 °C	27 %	37 km/h	0.0 mm	Moderate 20
26 Aug	23.7 °C	40 %	51 km/h	1.8 mm	Low 8
27 Aug	17.9 °C	44 %	50 km/h	1.1 mm	Low 7
28 Aug	17.2 °C	65 %	57 km/h	5.6 mm	Very low 1
29 Aug	18.1 °C	65 %	68 km/h	6.2 mm	Very low 0
30 Aug	21.6 °C	48 %	81 km/h	0.0 mm	Very low 5
31 Aug	23.8 °C	28 %	62 km/h	0.0 mm	Moderate 12
1 Sept	20.8 °C	29 %	52 km/h	0.0 mm	Moderate 14
2 Sept	26.0 °C	33 %	46 km/h	0.0 mm	Moderate 15
3 Sept	22.8 °C	36 %	53 km/h	0.0 mm	Moderate 16
4 Sept	16.6 °C	45 %	64 km/h	4.3 mm	Very low 3
5 Sept	13.4 °C	56 %	73 km/h	2.8 mm	Very low 1
6 Sept	14.8 °C	46 %	43 km/h	0.0 mm	Very low 2
7 Sept	12.1 °C	66 %	60 km/h	1.5 mm	Very low 2
8 Sept	15.4 °C	41 %	44 km/h	0.0 mm	Very low 4
9 Sept	18.0 °C	41 %	52 km/h	0.0 mm	Low 8
10 Sept	21.3 °C	32 %	54 km/h	0.0 mm	Moderate 12
11 Sept	20.3 °C	23 %	34 km/h	0.0 mm	Moderate 13
12 Sept	17.8 °C	43 %	26 km/h	0.0 mm	Low 11
13 Sept	19.6 °C	31 %	22 km/h	0.0 mm	Moderate 11
14 Sept	22.0 °C	26 %	24 km/h	0.0 mm	Moderate 14
15 Sept	18.6 °C	38 %	46 km/h	0.3 mm	Moderate 16
16 Sept	11.3 °C	68 %	24 km/h	11.5 mm	Very low 0
17 Sept	11.7 °C	69 %	33 km/h	14.0 mm	Very low 0
18 Sept	12.8 °C	54 %	47 km/h	2.8 mm	Very low 0
19 Sept	12.9 °C	49 %	25 km/h	1.4 mm	Very low 0
20 Sept	16.9 °C	35 %	49 km/h	0.0 mm	Very low 1
21 Sept	19.8 °C	39 %	42 km/h	0.0 mm	Very low 4
22 Sept	19.3 °C	35 %	67 km/h	0.0 mm	Low 9
23 Sept	11.7 °C	46 %	74 km/h	0.0 mm	Low 10
24 Sept	14.8 °C	44 %	67 km/h	0.0 mm	Low 10
25 Sept	15.2 °C	69 %	57 km/h	2.0 mm	Very low 1
26 Sept	20.6 °C	52 %	40 km/h	0.0 mm	Very low 3
27 Sept	22.2 °C	34 %	44 km/h	0.0 mm	Low 8
28 Sept	19.7 °C	41 %	25 km/h	0.8 mm	Low 5
29 Sept	18.4 °C	58 %	20 km/h	2.0 mm	Very low 1
30 Sept	18.7 °C	48 %	42 km/h	0.0 mm	Very low 4
1 Oct	21.2 °C	46 %	68 km/h	0.0 mm	Low 9
2 Oct	18.8 °C	35 %	60 km/h	0.0 mm	Low 11
3 Oct	16.4 °C	37 %	45 km/h	0.0 mm	Low 10
4 Oct	12.9 °C	47 %	32 km/h	1.9 mm	Very low 2
5 Oct	11.6 °C	69 %	34 km/h	4.0 mm	Very low 0
6 Oct	18.5 °C	45 %	20 km/h	0.0 mm	Very low 1
7 Oct	17.9 °C	42 %	40 km/h	0.0 mm	Very low 4
8 Oct	16.6 °C	46 %	35 km/h	0.0 mm	Low 5
9 Oct	16.5 °C	50 %	73 km/h	0.0 mm	Low 9
10 Oct	14.3 °C	39 %	85 km/h	5.5 mm	Very low 1
11 Oct	12.0 °C	41 %	65 km/h	0.0 mm	Very low 3
12 Oct	12.8 °C	53 %	50 km/h	0.0 mm	Very low 4
13 Oct	18.1 °C	41 %	73 km/h	0.0 mm	Low 8
14 Oct	16.1 °C	43 %	59 km/h	0.0 mm	Low 8
15 Oct	16.3 °C	56 %	37 km/h	0.0 mm	Low 7
16 Oct	18.9 °C	32 %	39 km/h	0.0 mm	Low 9
17 Oct	19.1 °C	33 %	49 km/h	0.0 mm	Low 11
18 Oct	16.7 °C	45 %	47 km/h	0.0 mm	Low 10
19 Oct after	12.8 °C	50 %	76 km/h	2.9 mm	Very low 2

Before and after, from space

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

↔

Before · 15 Aug 2022

After · 25 Oct 2022

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 15 October 2022 the air beside the fire reached 607 µg/m³ of PM2.5. That day averaged 244: 16 times the WHO daily guideline (15).

PM2.5 peak607 µg/m³

Days over the guideline6 days

PM10868 µg/m³

Optical depth1.79

WHO 15

202122232425262728293031123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930123456789101112131415161718192021

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 · 240Every 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 Peace River E fire last?: It burned between 22 August 2022 and 18 October 2022: 58 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 1,794 hectares (17.9 km²). Other tallies, such as those of provincial agencies, may give slightly different figures.
Which census subdivisions burned?: The fire only entered Peace River E (1,804 ha, 0.1 %).
What was the weather like?: During the fire the temperature reached 29.9 °C, humidity dropped to 23 % and gusts hit 85 km/h. The fire danger index (FWI) reached 20, 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

Satellite cross-check

NASA FIRMS ↗
CWFIS · Interactive map ↗

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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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