In 2003, a major forest fire, McLure Forest Fire, swept through the area surrounding Barriere and destroyed 72 homes and 9 businesses, most notably the Louis Creek sawmill, a large local employer. On Wednesday, July 30, 2003, the careless discarding of a cigarette butt by McLure resident Mike Barrie, into dry pine needles and withered grass, began a nightmare for those who lived in the North Thompson Valley. The McLure fire was reported to the BC Forest Service at 1:02 p.m. Crews and airtankers were dispatched within 22 minutes. Resources on the fire by July 31 were; 100 firefighters (with 45 persons working the fire overnight), four helicopters, nine bulldozers, two excavators, and five water trucks with the McLure and Barriere Fire Departments. The fire burned the mountain above Barriere called Armor Mountain, in the Louis Creek zone. It also burned across the North Thompson river from Barriere, to Bonaparte Lake. Due to this fire, 3,800 people were evacuated, 880 of these people were also evacuated for a second time, from the small communities of McLure, Exlou, Barriere and Louis Creek. The evacuation order was lifted on August 8, although the fire was not officially declared contained until August 31. The fire reached a final size of 26,420 hectares.
