East Kootenay, Electoral Area A

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).

The Province's monitoring records hold groundwater samples from 4 wells in Area A, 2000 to 2004. No well's median passed Health Canada's limits for arsenic, fluoride, manganese, uranium, nitrate or lead. 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

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

1. 1Aquifer 532: Elk Riverconfined sand and gravel (glacial)90 wells · moderate productivity
2. 2Aquifer 534: Fernie South bedrockfractured sedimentary rock21 wells · low productivity
3. 3Aquifer 1088: Town of Hosmerconfined sand and gravel (glacial)18 wells · moderate productivity
4. 4Aquifer 1053: 2 km south of Ferniefractured sedimentary rock13 wells · low productivity
5. 5Aquifer 1094: West side of Elk River Valleyfractured sedimentary rock12 wells · low productivity
6. 6Aquifer 1090: South of Hosmerconfined sand and gravel (glacial)11 wells · moderate productivity
7. 7Aquifer 1076: West side of Elk River Valleyfractured sedimentary rock11 wells · low productivity
8. 8Aquifer 1074: West side of Elk River Valleyconfined sand and gravel (glacial)8 wells · moderate productivity
9. 9Aquifer 1070: West side of Elk River Valleyconfined sand and gravel (glacial)7 wells · moderate productivity
10. 10Aquifer 1064: Elk River Valleyconfined sand and gravel (glacial)7 wells · moderate 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

11 sampled lakes lie in Area A (one only partly), largest first.

1. 1Connor Lakes2 km²too few readings to judge
2. 2Grave Lake1 km² · 99% of it heretoo few readings to judge
3. 3Upper Elk Lake71.1 hatoo few readings to judge
4. 4Lower Elk Lake23.7 hatoo few readings to judge
5. 5Abruzzi Lake17.9 hatoo few readings to judge
6. 6Cadorna Lake15.8 hatoo few readings to judge
7. 7Unnamed lake in the Elk River watershed (sampled as “Wetland west of the Elk River”)3.7 hatoo few readings to judge
8. 8Hartley Lake1.6 hatoo few readings to judge
9. 9Unnamed lake in the Elk River watershed (sampled as “Wetland near Elk River north of Elkford”)1.6 hatoo few readings to judge
10. 10Unnamed lake in the Elk River watershed (sampled as “Lower pond near Lake Mountain Lake”)0.8 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 1981-2010 at the Fernie station, about 4 km from West Fernie (of the communities here with a station within 30 km, the one with the most addresses); ECCC has no fuller 1991-2020 set for it. Its normals don't include the frost-free period, days with snow on the ground or degree days, so those are left out. * 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 its record up to 2010 (ECCC's 1981-2010 sets give records over the station's whole history, so some dates are older than 1981). 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. We don't set this station's figures against other places: it's more than 300 m above or below the place's ground, or its height isn't known.

Plant hardiness zone: most homes here are in zone 4b (47%); 37% are in 5a, 15% 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 1,100 kWh a year for each kW of panels at West Fernie, about 48 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 West Fernie, climate models project about 7 more days over 30 °C a year, a longest frost-free run about 30 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 8 days over 30 °C a year in 2041-2070 (range 4 to 21 across the models), against about 1 day in 1971-2000; a longest frost-free run of about 130 days (range 120 to 150), against about 100; and about 84% of winter's precipitation falling as snow (range 78% to 86%), against about 92%. 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 West Fernie: none recorded from space, and darker than about 94% 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 West Fernie, a cloud-to-ground flash within 10 km on about 15 days a year and 0.38 flashes per km² a year, more than at 3 in 4 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); 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 83 km of active oil and gas pipeline in Area A, permitted to 2 companies: FortisBC Energy Inc. and Foothills Pipe Lines (South B.C.) Ltd. About 26 km more is on recent permits it lists as new; about 4.6 km is abandoned or deactivated, often still in the ground. 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 17 active waste discharge authorizations in Area A; the commonest kinds: mine (7), concrete plant (3) and sewage treatment or discharge site (3). Of these, 2 may discharge to air, 10 effluent to water or land and 2 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 no open gravel pit or quarry in Area A, but 4 open mine permits: 3 coal mines and 1 mineral exploration or mine permit area. 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 20% private, 13% Crown land with a parcel drawn (8% with no title), 3% federal; no parcel is mapped over 64%, 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 14 active Crown range tenures (14 grazing) reaching into Area A, over 51% of its area, licensed for about 1,566 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 35 registered traplines over 92% of the area and 10 guide outfitter territories over 60% 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 4-23 (65%), 4-1 (34%): the Hunting and Trapping Regulations Synopsis sets seasons and closed areas by unit. Hunting and shooting on your own property.

BC Parks maps 6 parks and protected areas (Akamina-Kishinena Park, a provincial park; Elk Lakes Park, a provincial park; Elk Valley Park, a provincial park; Height of the Rockies Park, a provincial park; and 2 more) reaching into Area A, over 10% of its land. Recreation Sites and Trails BC lists 15 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).