The water level of the river varies with the seasons and the precipitation; the spring flood occurs in March or April.

He explored several territories including Georgian Bay and Lakes Huron, Ontario, Superior and Erie, where he traded furs for the French.

During the illegal capture of Quebec by the Kirke brothers in 1629, in a context of war between England and France, Étienne Brulé went to the service of the English.

Samuel de Champlain returned to the colony and accuses Étienne Brûlé of treason in these terms: "Here are those who betrayed their Roy & sold their homeland[…]".

The toponym "Rivière Brûlé" was formalized on December 13, 1996 at the Place Names Bank of the Commission de toponymie du Québec.