Dease Lake
| Coordinates | 58°26′0″N 130°1′27″W |
| Country | British Columbia |
| District | Kitimat-Stikine Regional District |
| Population |
56,811 |
| Postal code area | DL |
| Postal code district | DL1 |
| Suburbs | RBCAF Dease Lake (DL2) Allan Lake (DL3) North Dease Lake (DL5) Philippone Lake (DL6) Southshore (DL7) |
Dease Lake is a city in northeastern British Columbia, located within the Kitimat-Stikine Regional District.
North Dease Lake, Tatcho Creek and Tatl′ah are non-contiguous exclaves of the Tahltan Nation Indigenous Administrative District located within Dease Lake city limits. Although they are effectively indistinguishable suburbs of the city, they are not administratively part of it.
History
Dease Lake was one of the focal points of the Accidental War of 1983 between BC and the United States.
Commerce
Much of Dease Lake's commercial activity is centred around serving the air force base.
Transportation
Air
Dease Lake Airport (IATA: XDL, ICAO: BCDL), colocated with the airbase, is Dawson Creek's primary airport. Air BC, Central Mountain Air, Hawkair, and Northern Thunderbird Air all offer scheduled flights to various destinations in BC; Air BC also operate a daily service to Edmonton, Canada. It is also the operational hub of the RBCAF's public services.
Rail
Dease Lake Station is the northern terminus of BC Rail's Stikine Line and the southern terminus of the Cassiar Central Line. In addition to freight services, BC Rail operate Limited Express, Express, and Local passenger services that call at Dease Lake. The Klondike Limited (Trains 121/122) runs thrice weekly between Prince George and Whitehorse, Yukon, the Aurora Borealis (Trains 123/124) - a joint operation with VIA Rail of Canada - runs weekly between Edmonton, Alberta and Whitehorse, and the Alaska Limited (Trains 191/192) - operated jointly with the Alaska Railroad - runs weekly between Seattle, Washington and Anchorage, Alaska. The one Express service is the Tahltan Highlander (Trains 83/84), which is an overnight sleeper service between Dease Lake and Dawson Creek, whilst the Local service, running twice daily in each direction, are Trains 8201.1-2/8202.1-2 between Kluakaz and Cassiar.
The Skeena Pacific Railway's Ganiks Laxha–Dease Lake line also serves Dease Lake Station, although the section between Dease Lake and Iskut Junction is owned by BC Rail. Skeena Pacific operate three daily return trips between Dease Lake and Meziadin (Local Trains 601/602, 603/604, 605/606).
Road
Dease Lake is located on the Stikine Highway (BC Highway 37), and it is the northeastern terminus of the Tahltan Highway (BC Highway 51).
Bus service is provided by the Dease Lake Transit System.
Sport
Football
Dawson Creek is represented in both the British Columbia Football League and the British Columbia Women's Football League by Dease Lake Air Force FC and Dease Lake Air Force WFC respectively, both of whom play at the Stikine Street stadium, which seats 6,044 spectators.
Air Force FC were one of the founding members of the Football League in 1929, assigned to Division Three, from which they were relegated in 1930. From then until 1999 they appeared only seven times in the League, but have taken part in Division Three play five times between 2013 and 2020, after which they were again relegated. They have won the Northwest Regional Championship title seven times. Their best FA Cup performance to date came in 1930, when they advanced as far as the Fifth Round where they were defeated by Division One side Grand Forks FC 3:2 after extra time.
Hockey
The Dease Lake Lightning of the British Columbia Hockey League play at the Tatl′ah Arena in Tatl′ah, which has a capacity of 4,220 spectators.
Rugby
The Dease Lake Flyers RFC, presently competing in the BCRU Second Division, play at Stikine Street.
Military
RBCAF Dease Lake is one of the Royal BC Air Force's most important airbases. It is used primarily for fighter-interceptor aircraft, and is a key part of the joint BC–US–Canada North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD). Stationed here are the 1 (Fighter), 4 (Transport), and 9 (Fighter) Squadrons, as well as the non-flying 502 (Communications) Squadron; this unit is directly subordinate to NORAD.