Bulkley-Nechako, Electoral Area A

Its land, ranked in BC

Shares of the land area, worked out from the Province's maps. Fire perimeters before the 1950s are less complete. A title or a past fire somewhere in the area says nothing about a given lot: a property report checks the parcel itself.

Large fires (1,000 ha or more) since 1990

No wildfire of 1,000 ha or more has burned in Area A since 1990, in the BC Wildfire Service's perimeters.

Smaller mapped fires since 2016

Since 2016, the BC Wildfire Service mapped 11 smaller fires (under 1,000 ha) that reached Area A, newest first. This season's are as mapped by November 9, 2026.

1. 2026Unnamed fire R302032.4 ha in all2.4 ha here
2. 2025Unnamed fire R322650.4 ha in all0.4 ha here
3. 2024Unnamed fire R301391.8 ha in all1.8 ha here
4. 2023Powers Creek wildfire35 ha in all35 ha here
5. 2023Chapman Road wildfire5.6 ha in all5.6 ha here
6. 2023Unnamed fire R300843.6 ha in all · 96% of it here3.4 ha here
7. 2023Unnamed fire R301433.5 ha in all3.5 ha here
8. 2023Unnamed fire R301403.1 ha in all3.1 ha here

And 3 more

1. 2023Unnamed fire R302091.4 ha in all1.4 ha here
2. 2023Coffin Lake wildfire1.1 ha in all1.1 ha here
3. 2016Unnamed fire R300032 ha in all2 ha here

Small fires that were never mapped as a perimeter aren't listed: the BC Wildfire Service maps an outline for only some of the fires it records. Past fire is history, not a forecast. The chance of fire on a lot today depends on what the record doesn't show: the forest and grass around it, the slope, what has been thinned or burned since, and how far it is from a fire hall. Every BC season and large fire since 1990.

Sources: BC Wildfire Fire Perimeters – Historical, BC Wildfire Service; BC Wildfire Fire Perimeters – Current, BC Wildfire Service; BC Wildfire Fire Incident Locations – Historical, BC Wildfire Service; BC Wildfire Fire Locations – Current, BC Wildfire Service (Open Government Licence – British Columbia), as published on November 10, 2026; 2021 census subdivision boundaries, Statistics Canada (Statistics Canada Open Licence). Outlines simplified and places measured by PlaceDossier.

How the land burned

On the Province's ecosystem map, Area A's land is 42% NDT3 (burned in large fires about every 100 to 150 years), 31% NDT2 (burned in large fires about every 200 years), 15% NDT1 (rarely burned, about every 250 to 350 years and in patches) and 12% NDT5 (alpine tundra and subalpine parkland). Its main biogeoclimatic zones are Sub-Boreal Spruce (42%) and Engelmann Spruce–Subalpine Fir (39%). This is how the land burned before fires were put out, not its fire risk today. A report names the type over a lot. Every place's natural fire regime.

Source: BEC Map (biogeoclimatic zones and natural disturbance types), Province of BC (Open Government Licence – British Columbia), read 2026-10-12; areas worked out on the census boundaries.

Evacuations since April 2017

Since April 2017, the Province's record holds 1 wildfire event with an evacuation order or alert over Area A, alerts only. The latest: Powers Creek Wildfire, July 2023.

1. 2023Powers Creek WildfireJuly 2023 · evacuation alert · Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako206 homes

Listed when an order or alert area covered at least 5% of the land in Area A, or lay mostly in Area A and held at least 5% as many homes as the 2021 census counted there. An order means people were told to leave; an alert, to be ready to leave. Homes are the record's own counts, area by area, shown where the areas lie mostly in Area A. The Province's record starts in April 2017: earlier evacuations aren't in it. A lot's report checks every order and alert over the lot itself, and any in effect now.

Sources: Historical Orders and Alerts, Emergency Management and Climate Readiness (Open Government Licence – British Columbia), as published on November 2, 2026; 2021 census subdivision boundaries and dwelling counts, Statistics Canada (Statistics Canada Open Licence). Each order and alert area placed in the municipalities and electoral areas it covers by us.

Evacuations for floods, landslides and other hazards since April 2017

None of the flood, landslide or other non-fire evacuation orders or alerts in the Province's record since April 2017 covered 5% or more of the land or homes in Area A.

Sources: Historical Orders and Alerts, Emergency Management and Climate Readiness (Open Government Licence – British Columbia), as published on November 2, 2026; 2021 census subdivision boundaries and dwelling counts, Statistics Canada (Statistics Canada Open Licence). Each order and alert area placed in the municipalities and electoral areas it covers by us.

136 landslides are recorded inside Area A in the Preliminary Canadian Landslide Database (version 14.0), including 94 earth slides, 13 mountain slope deformations and 6 rock rotational slides. The database lists slides known to have happened, mapped from inventories, satellite images and lidar. It isn't a hazard map, and some parts of BC are mapped in far more detail than others. Landslides near a given lot.

The Province maps under a kilometre of dikes in Area A, along Telkwa River; the longest is Cottonwood Flood Protection. A dike lowers the chance of a flood behind it, not to nothing; a report names the dikes within 1 km of a lot and who maintains them. Dikes in BC, by place.

The Province lists 21 dams in Area A, none classed High or above for the harm a failure would do downstream. Of these, 2 are recorded as breached (failed). The class rates what a failure would do, not how likely one is; a report names the dams within 1 km of a lot. Dams in BC, by place.

6 Water Survey of Canada gauges in Area A have 5 or more years of yearly peak flows: Goathorn Creek near Telkwa peaked highest at 51.5 m³/s in 1988 (56 years on record), Telkwa River below Tsai Creek peaked highest at 264 m³/s in 1991 (47 years on record) and Simpson Creek at the Mouth peaked highest at 9.6 m³/s in 1988 (46 years on record), among others. A gauge's record is the river where it stands, not a flood line; a report gives the nearest gauge on a river by the lot. River gauges in BC, by place.

Poor-air days: at the Smithers Muheim Memorial air monitoring station, 2.9 km from Smithers, fine particles passed the level of BC's 24-hour objective (25 µg/m³) on a median of 2 days a year over the 7 years with a full record, 2019 to 2025; the most was 11 days in 2023. These days fell both in the wildfire season and in winter (our reading: wildfire smoke in summer, wood smoke held in by still air in winter). How smoky it gets across BC.

Radon

In the Northwest health region, 11 of the 211 homes tested (5.2%) in Health Canada's 2009–2011 survey were at or above the 200 Bq/m³ guideline; across BC, 143 of 1,817 (7.9%).

The survey tested about a hundred volunteer homes per health region, with one long-term test each. That gives a rough regional picture: it isn't a map, and a region where few or none tested high can still have homes above the guideline. The only way to know is to test the home: radon and buying a home in BC.

Source: Cross-Canada Survey of Radon Concentrations in Homes (2009–2011), Health Canada (Open Government Licence – Canada); Health Service Delivery Area Boundaries, Province of BC (Open Government Licence – British Columbia).

Check one lot: has it burned? · is it on a floodplain map? · is it behind a dike? · is there a dam nearby? · landslides nearby? · contaminated sites nearby? · radon? · how much is too steep?

Source: Agricultural Land Reserve polygons, Agricultural Land Commission (Open Government Licence – British Columbia); Fire perimeters – historical, BC Wildfire Service (Open Government Licence – British Columbia); Mineral, placer and coal tenures, Mineral Titles Branch (Open Government Licence – British Columbia); Preliminary Canadian Landslide Database, version 14.0 (May 2026), Brideau et al. (CC BY 4.0); 2021 census subdivision boundaries, Statistics Canada (Statistics Canada Open Licence).

Area A is outside the Province's speculation and vacancy tax area, so the tax doesn't apply to a home here. Our summary of the Province's pages, read 2026-10-04. Where the tax applies, and who pays.

The typical home here is the median value owners gave the 2021 census, and the typical household's income is the median for 2020: a home that costs 5.1 years of income took that many years of a typical household's whole income. "Typical" for places its size is the middle of BC's rural electoral areas.

Source: Census of Population 2021, Statistics Canada (Statistics Canada Open Licence).

In Area A, a zone limited to detached houses must allow at least one secondary suite or detached accessory home (a garden suite or carriage house) next to a house. A floor of 3 or 4 homes applies on rural land only inside an urban containment boundary drawn in a regional growth strategy, and most rural land is outside one. None of it applies on land in an Islands Trust local trust area or under a rural land use bylaw, and in the Agricultural Land Reserve the Commission's limits come first. How many homes you can build on a lot.

The Province's principal residence requirement doesn't apply in Area A (list in force from June 1, 2026), so the provincial rule doesn't limit short-term rentals to the host's home. Local bylaws, including the zone's own rules, can be stricter. Hosts anywhere in BC register each unit with the provincial registry. Short-term rental rules in BC.

Reports for lots in Area A can't name the zone: we have no open zoning map for it (see the places covered).

Ask the Bulkley-Nechako Regional District for a lot's zone and what it allows.

The federal boundaries put 2 reserves of Witset First Nation in or beside Area A. On reserve land the First Nation decides land use, not the local zoning bylaw; a report says when a lot is on reserve land or within 500 m of it. Reserve land in BC, by place.

The Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako's building inspection covers part of Area A (Building Bylaw No. 1634, 2012, in the service area of Bylaw No. 606, 1989): inside the building inspection area on the RDBN's map. There a building permit is needed and the work is inspected; elsewhere in the area it issues none. The service runs in every area, but only inside the building inspection area on the RDBN's map; outside it no permit is needed. The BC Building Code applies everywhere all the same. Our reading of the Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako's own page, checked 2026-10-07. Do you need a building permit on rural land?

The Province maps 2 designated community watersheds, Canyon Community Watershed and John Brown Community Watershed, over 7% of Area A: land draining to a licensed drinking-water intake, where logging and roads on Crown land must protect the supply. A report says whether a lot lies in one and whose water it is. Community watersheds in BC, by place.

Check one lot: is it in the ALR? · is the soil good for farming? · is it in a community watershed?

Source: Agricultural Land Reserve polygons, Agricultural Land Commission (Open Government Licence – British Columbia); 2021 census subdivision boundaries, Statistics Canada (Statistics Canada Open Licence).

The Province's monitoring records hold groundwater samples from 8 wells in Area A, 2001 to 2025, among them 2 of the Province's observation wells. The median passed Health Canada's limit for arsenic (1 well), manganese (2 wells) and lead (1 well). A report names the nearest sampled wells within 10 km of a lot. A neighbouring well isn't your water: test your own. What BC's well water tests for, by place.

Mapped aquifers

14 mapped aquifers lie in Area A, most wells first.

1. 1Aquifer 584: Smithers - North; east side of Bulkley Riverconfined sand and gravel (glacial)102 wells · moderate productivity
2. 2Aquifer 578: East of Smithers; east side of Bulkley Riverfractured sedimentary rock69 wells · low productivity
3. 3Aquifer 577: East of Smithers; east side of Bulkley Riverconfined sand and gravel (glacial)50 wells · moderate productivity
4. 4Aquifer 579: East of Smithers; east side of Bulkley Riverfractured sedimentary rock46 wells · low productivity
5. 5Aquifer 585: Smithers - South; west side of Bulkley Riverconfined sand and gravel (glacial)33 wells · high productivity
6. 6Aquifer 581: South of Telkwa and Bulkley River confluenceconfined sand and gravel (glacial)28 wells · moderate productivity
7. 7Aquifer 675: Barrett Hat Bedrockfractured crystalline bedrock9 wells · low productivity
8. 8Aquifer 569: Confluence of Telkwa and Bulkley Riversconfined sand and gravel (glacial)9 wells · moderate productivity
9. 9Aquifer 576: South of Telkwa; southeast side of Telkwa Riverconfined sand and gravel (glacial)8 wells · high productivity
10. 10Aquifer 582: Confluence of Telkwa and Bulkley Riverconfined sand and gravel (glacial)8 wells · moderate productivity

And 4 more

11. 11Aquifer 583: East side of Telkwa Riverunconfined sand and gravel (late glacial outwash)6 wells · moderate productivity
12. 12Aquifer 580: Smithers - North; west side of Bulkley Riverfractured sedimentary rock5 wells · low productivity
13. 13Aquifer 587: Smithers - East; east side of Bulkley Riverconfined sand and gravel (glacial)5 wells · moderate productivity
14. 14Aquifer 586: Smithers; Between Beavery and John Brown Creeksconfined sand and gravel (glacial)4 wells · low productivity

An aquifer is listed for each place that holds at least a twentieth of it, so a sliver of one at the edge can be left out. Wells and productivity are for the whole aquifer, which can reach well beyond Area A. The province maps aquifers mostly in settled valleys, so a lot outside every outline can still have groundwater. Every mapped aquifer in BC · sampled lakes.

Sampled lakes

8 sampled lakes lie in Area A, largest first.

1. 1Tyhee Lake4 km²clarity 6.0 m (2016–2025)
2. 2McQuarrie Lake2 km²too few readings to judge
3. 3Round Lake (Bulkley River watershed)2 km²too few readings to judge
4. 4Kathlyn Lake1 km²clarity 3.5 m (2016–2025)
5. 5Seymour Lake (Bulkley River watershed)87.3 hatoo few readings to judge
6. 6Toboggan Lake15.4 hatoo few readings to judge
7. 7Bigelow Lake10.5 hatoo few readings to judge
8. 8Unnamed lake in the Bulkley River watershed0.2 hatoo few readings to judge

A lake is listed for each place that holds at least a twentieth of it or 100 ha of it. Clarity is the median summer Secchi depth; the nutrient class is our reading of Carlson's index from phosphorus or chlorophyll, not a provincial rating. Either is given only for a lake with at least 10 summer readings from open water, spread over at least 3 different years, since 2012. Most lakes have never been sampled, so a lake missing here may simply have no record. Every sampled lake in BC.

Source: Groundwater wells (GWELLS), Province of BC (Open Government Licence – British Columbia); Ground Water Aquifers, Water Protection and Sustainability Branch, Province of BC (Open Government Licence – British Columbia); BC Environmental Monitoring Data System (EnMoDS) results, Province of BC (Open Government Licence – British Columbia); 2021 census subdivision boundaries, Statistics Canada (Statistics Canada Open Licence).

Normals for 1991-2020 at the Smithers Airport station, about 3 km from the middle of the area's addresses at Smithers (of the communities here with a station within 30 km, the one with the most addresses). * Based on at least 20 or 15 of the 30 years, short of the World Meteorological Organization's standard: treat as a rougher guide. The records are single days measured at the station: the most rain, snow and wind it saw in 1991-2020. Each is one event, not what to expect in a year, and the lot can get more or less than the station. Elevation matters a lot in BC: a hillside lot can be much colder and snowier than the station.

Plant hardiness zone: most homes here are in zone 4b (63%); 33% are in 4a, on Natural Resources Canada's 2025 map. Higher numbers are milder winters. What the zones mean.

Solar panels: a south-facing panel tilted at the latitude would make about 850 kWh a year for each kW of panels at the middle of the area's addresses at Smithers, about 28 of it in December (estimated from Natural Resources Canada's 1998-2022 sunshine map). An open sky is assumed: the hills, trees and buildings around a lot cut it, and a report sets the lot's own skyline beside it. What solar panels would make in BC.

By the 2050s (2041-2070) at Smithers, climate models project about 2 more days over 30 °C a year, a longest frost-free run about 45 days longer and about 8 percentage points less of winter's precipitation falling as snow, each against the same models' 1971-2000 (model projections under SSP2-4.5, a middle path for emissions). The models work on a grid of about 9 by 6 km, which averages valley floors with the slopes around them, so their own figures can sit well off a station's normals and aren't comparable with them. Their own figures there: about 3 days over 30 °C a year in 2041-2070 (range 2 to 8 across the models), against about 1 day in 1971-2000; a longest frost-free run of about 150 days (range 130 to 170), against about 105; and about 82% of winter's precipitation falling as snow (range 74% to 86%), against about 90%. The ranges run from the 10th to the 90th percentile of the models' 2041-2070 figures. The 2050s across BC.

Light at night within 1 km of the middle of the area's addresses at Smithers: faint, as around Wells or Lytton (our reading), and darker than about 87% of BC's homes (2024 satellite record). A lot away from the centre can be much darker. How dark are BC's nights?

Lightning: around the middle of the area's addresses at Smithers, a cloud-to-ground flash within 10 km on about 3 days a year and 0.03 flashes per km² a year, less than at half of BC homes (the Canadian Lightning Detection Network, 1998-2025 average, on a grid of about 11 by 7 km).

Source: Canadian Climate Normals 1991-2020 and 1981-2010, Environment and Climate Change Canada (Open Government Licence – Canada); Plant hardiness zones of Canada (2025 map), Natural Resources Canada (Open Government Licence – Canada); Medium Resolution Digital Elevation Model (MRDEM-30), Natural Resources Canada (Open Government Licence – Canada); Solar position: General Solar Position Calculations (NOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory; Spencer, 1971) (Public domain); Daily average solar irradiance on tilted surfaces for all of Canada (1998-2022), Natural Resources Canada (Open Government Licence – Canada); Photovoltaic Potential and Solar Resource Maps of Canada (performance ratio), Natural Resources Canada (Open Government Licence – Canada); Statistically downscaled climate indices from CMIP6 global climate models (CanDCS-M6), Environment and Climate Change Canada and the Pacific Climate Impacts Consortium, via the Canadian Centre for Climate Services (Open Government Licence – Canada); Air Quality and Climate Monitoring: Verified Hourly Air Quality and Meteorological Data (fine particulate matter, PM2.5), BC Ministry of Environment and Parks (Open Government Licence – British Columbia); VIIRS Nighttime Lights, 2024 annual composite, Earth Observation Group, Payne Institute for Public Policy, Colorado School of Mines (Elvidge et al. 2021, Remote Sensing 13(5):922), via Hengl, OpenGeoHub, Zenodo doi 10.5281/zenodo.7750174 (CC BY 4.0); Canadian Lightning Detection Network cloud-to-ground flashes (CanCPLDv1), Environment and Climate Change Canada (Open Government Licence – Canada).

The BC Energy Regulator maps about 88 km of active oil and gas pipeline in Area A, permitted to Pacific Northern Gas Ltd. A report lists any pipeline within 200 m of a lot, and flags one within 30 m, where digging needs the permit holder's agreement. Pipelines in BC, by place.

The Province lists 13 active waste discharge authorizations in Area A; the commonest kinds: soil amendment (biosolids or other wastes spread on land) (6), sewage treatment or discharge site (3) and landfill, transfer station or other solid waste site (2). Of these, 2 may discharge to air, 4 effluent to water or land and 1 refuse to land. A report lists any within 2 km of a lot, and flags one whose point is on it. Permitted discharges in BC, by place.

The Province maps 16 open gravel pits and quarries in Area A, among them Tatlow Pit, Hwy 16 pit and Goathorn Pit; and 7 other open mine permits: 1 coal mine, 2 mineral exploration permit areas and 4 mineral exploration or mine permit areas. A report lists the permits within 2 km of a lot, names an open pit or quarry within 500 m and flags one whose permit area takes in the lot. Gravel pits and mine permits in BC, by place.

On ParcelMap BC, the land in Area A is 14% private, 12% Crown land with a parcel drawn (6% with no title); no parcel is mapped over 74%, likely most of it untitled Crown land, with lakes and road allowances. A report says who owns the land along a lot's line. Crown land next to a property, and every place's land by owner.

The Ministry of Forests maps 36 active Crown range tenures (33 grazing, 3 hay cutting) reaching into Area A, over 32% of its area, licensed for about 6,662 animal unit months of grazing a year in all. Outside a pound district, keeping livestock off a lot is the owner's fence to build. A report lists any tenure within 1 km of a lot. Open range and grazing in BC, by place.

The Province maps 28 registered traplines over nearly all of the area and 5 guide outfitter territories over 80% in Area A. The maps are drawn over titled land too, but traplines are registered on Crown land: on titled land, anyone but the owner or occupier needs their written permission to trap. A report says whether either takes in a lot. Traplines and guiding territories in BC, by place.

Area A lies in wildlife management units 6-9 (69%), 6-8 (31%): the Hunting and Trapping Regulations Synopsis sets seasons and closed areas by unit. Hunting and shooting on your own property.

BC Parks maps 7 parks and protected areas (Babine Mountains Park, a provincial park; BABINE MOUNTAINS TRAILS (Park Act Section 6), a protected area; Burnt Cabin Bog Ecological Reserve; Call Lake Park, a provincial park; and 3 more) reaching into Area A, over 6% of its land. Recreation Sites and Trails BC lists 21 sites there. A report names the nearest park and recreation site within 25 km of a lot. Parks and recreation sites in BC, by place.

Check one lot: is there a mineral claim? · power lines nearby? · pipelines nearby? · a gravel pit nearby? · a landfill or plant nearby? · logging planned nearby? · cattle on open range? · is there a trapline? · can I hunt on it? · a park nearby? · Crown land next door?

Source: Mineral, placer and coal tenures, Mineral Titles Branch (Open Government Licence – British Columbia); 2021 census subdivision boundaries, Statistics Canada (Statistics Canada Open Licence).

Census figures are from 2021; the next census results start in 2027. Area boundaries are Statistics Canada's census subdivisions, which follow municipal and electoral area lines. The places named at the top are the official place names in the area (BC Geographical Names) with the most 2021 homes nearer them than any other name, on ISED's home points: our reading.

Source: Census of Population 2021, Statistics Canada (Statistics Canada Open Licence); BC Geographical Names, Province of BC (Open Government Licence – British Columbia); Pseudo-Household Demographic Distribution (2021), Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (Open Government Licence – Canada).