East Kootenay, Electoral Area C

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

Since 1990, 8 wildfires of 1,000 ha or more burned in Area C, together 30,274 ha, 7% of its land (ground that burned twice counts once). The most here was the Quinn Creek wildfire in 2017, 11,523 ha.

1. 2023Lum Creek wildfire3,458 ha in all3,458 ha here
2. 2023Kamma Creek wildfire1,457 ha in all · 54% of it here780 ha here
3. 2023St. Mary's River wildfire4,641 ha in all · 5% of it here223 ha here
4. 2022Unnamed fire N109891,719 ha in all · 3% of it here48 ha here
5. 2018Randal Creek wildfire1,136 ha in BC1,136 ha here
6. 2017Quinn Creek wildfire11,764 ha in all · 98% of it here11,523 ha here
7. 2017Lamb Creek wildfire2,214 ha in all2,214 ha here
8. 2003Unnamed fire N1047010,892 ha in all10,892 ha here

Smaller mapped fires since 2016

Since 2016, the BC Wildfire Service mapped 25 smaller fires (under 1,000 ha) that reached Area C, newest first. This season's are as mapped by November 9, 2026.

1. 2026Unnamed fire N1132622 ha in all22 ha here
2. 2026Unnamed fire N108125.7 ha in all5.7 ha here
3. 2024Unnamed fire N102503.6 ha in all3.6 ha here
4. 2024Unnamed fire N124423 ha in all3 ha here
5. 2023Gilnockie Creek wildfire2.1 ha in all2.1 ha here
6. 2022Unnamed fire N11064274 ha in all274 ha here
7. 2022Unnamed fire N211124.3 ha in all4.3 ha here
8. 2022Wardner Fort Steele wildfire2.9 ha in all2.9 ha here

And 17 more

1. 2022Unnamed fire N118802.8 ha in all2.8 ha here
2. 2022Quinn Creek wildfire1.8 ha in all1.8 ha here
3. 2021Tanglefoot Creek wildfire541 ha in all541 ha here
4. 2021Moyie River wildfire27 ha in all27 ha here
5. 2021Fenwick Road wildfire1.2 ha in all1.2 ha here
6. 2020Unnamed fire N114513.1 ha in all3.1 ha here
7. 2019Unnamed fire N703511.3 ha in all1.3 ha here
8. 2019Unnamed fire N101621.2 ha in all1.2 ha here
9. 2018Unnamed fire N12407783 ha in all783 ha here
10. 2018Unnamed fire N113326.6 ha in all6.6 ha here
11. 2018Unnamed fire N122911.9 ha in all1.9 ha here
12. 2018Unnamed fire N100231.8 ha in all1.8 ha here
13. 2018Unnamed fire N122470.4 ha in all0.4 ha here
14. 2017Unnamed fire N1134739 ha in all · 94% of it here36 ha here
15. 2017Unnamed fire N1038234 ha in all34 ha here
16. 2017Unnamed fire N116082.4 ha in all2.4 ha here
17. 2016Unnamed fire N702532 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 C's land is 56% NDT3 (burned in large fires about every 100 to 150 years), 18% NDT4 (burned often and lightly, every 4 to 50 years), 17% NDT2 (burned in large fires about every 200 years), 5% NDT5 (alpine tundra and subalpine parkland) and 4% NDT1 (rarely burned, about every 250 to 350 years and in patches). Its main biogeoclimatic zones are Engelmann Spruce–Subalpine Fir (45%), Interior Cedar–Hemlock (23%), Interior Douglas-fir (18%) and Montane Spruce (13%). In the dry forest and grassland of NDT4, a century of putting fires out has let many stands fill in, building up fuel that can carry a crown fire instead of a light surface fire. 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

None of the wildfire evacuation orders or alerts in the Province's record since April 2017 covered 5% or more of the land or homes in Area C.

Listed when an order or alert area covered at least 5% of the land in Area C, or lay mostly in Area C 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 C. 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 C.

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.

28 landslides are recorded inside Area C in the Preliminary Canadian Landslide Database (version 14.0), including 5 rock slides, 4 rock falls and 4 mountain slope deformations. The latest with a date of its own: a debris flood, 19 Aug 2004. 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 C, along Braunagel Creek and Etna Creek; the longest are Braunagel Creek Berm and the Etna Creek - Sites 1, 2 dike. Under a kilometre is orphaned, with no local authority responsible. 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 12 dams in Area C, 3 of them classed High or above for the harm a failure would do downstream: Phillips Dam (Extreme), Aberfeldie Dam (High) and Idlewild Dam (High). 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.

5 Water Survey of Canada gauges in Area C have 5 or more years of yearly peak flows: Bull River near Wardner peaked highest at 455 m³/s in 2013 (59 years on record), Kootenay River at Fort Steele peaked highest at 1,830 m³/s in 1974 (58 years on record) and Moyie River above Negro Creek peaked highest at 189 m³/s in 1999 (45 years on record), among others. 1 set its record in the last 10 years. 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 Cranbrook Muriel Baxter air monitoring station, 4 km from Cranbrook, fine particles passed the level of BC's 24-hour objective (25 µg/m³) on a median of 12 days a year over the 6 years with a full record, 2020 to 2025; the most was 19 days in 2021. 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 East Kootenay health region, 20 of the 105 homes tested (19%) 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).

The Province's monitoring records hold groundwater samples from 7 wells in Area C, 2000 to 2025, among them 1 of the Province's observation wells. The median passed Health Canada's limit for nitrate (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

23 mapped aquifers lie in Area C, most wells first.

1. 1Aquifer 535: Cranbrook Northwestfractured sedimentary rock384 wells · moderate productivity
2. 2Aquifer 523: Cranbrook South, bedrockfractured sedimentary rock240 wells · low productivity
3. 3Aquifer 536: Wycliffefractured sedimentary rock189 wells · moderate productivity
4. 4Aquifer 524: Cranbrookunconfined sand and gravel (late glacial outwash)145 wells · moderate productivity
5. 5Aquifer 525: Cranbrook - West St. Mary Riverconfined sand and gravel (glacial)142 wells · moderate productivity
6. 6Aquifer 526: Cranbrook - Eastconfined sand and gravel (glacial)122 wells · moderate productivity
7. 7Aquifer 529: Wardnerfractured sedimentary rock74 wells · moderate productivity
8. 8Aquifer 528: Wardnerunconfined sand and gravel (medium stream system)74 wells · moderate productivity
9. 9Aquifer 445: Northwest of Cranbrook; near Hospital Creekconfined sand and gravel (glacial)44 wells · moderate productivity
10. 10Aquifer 1142: North of Fort Steeleconfined sand and gravel (glacial)32 wells · moderate productivity

And 13 more

11. 11Aquifer 999: North of Cranbrookconfined sand and gravel (glacial)30 wells · moderate productivity
12. 12Aquifer 439: Jim Smith Lakeconfined sand and gravel (glacial)30 wells · moderate productivity
13. 13Aquifer 1141: Kootenay and St. Mary Riversunconfined sand and gravel (large river system)29 wells · moderate productivity
14. 14Aquifer 527: Bull Riverconfined sand and gravel (glacial)24 wells · moderate productivity
15. 15Aquifer 446: Booth Creek, northwest of Cranbrookconfined sand and gravel (glacial)23 wells · low productivity
16. 16Aquifer 538: St. Mary River Indian Reserveunconfined sand and gravel (large river system)20 wells · moderate productivity
17. 17Aquifer 1134: Wycliffe, North of St. Mary Riverconfined sand and gravel (glacial)17 wells · moderate productivity
18. 18Aquifer 998: Bednorski Lakeconfined sand and gravel (glacial)15 wells · moderate productivity
19. 19Aquifer 997: Mayookconfined sand and gravel (glacial)11 wells · moderate productivity
20. 20Aquifer 1139: Canadian Rockies International Airportconfined sand and gravel (glacial)8 wells · high productivity
21. 21Aquifer 1133: Old Town, on Perry Creekconfined sand and gravel (glacial)7 wells · moderate productivity
22. 22Aquifer 996: Bull Mountainfractured sedimentary rock6 wells · moderate productivity
23. 23Aquifer 1138: East of Kimberlyconfined sand and gravel (glacial)5 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 C. 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

9 sampled lakes lie in Area C (one only partly), largest first.

1. 1Lake Koocanusa67 km² · 6% of it hereclarity 2.0 m (2015–2026)
2. 2Moyie Lake9 km²clarity 6.4 m (2015–2025)
3. 3Monroe Lake54.3 hatoo few readings to judge
4. 4Unnamed lake in the St. Mary River watershed (sampled as “Phillips Reservoir”)30.8 hatoo few readings to judge
5. 5Jim Smith Lake23.8 hatoo few readings to judge
6. 6Norbury Lakes14 hatoo few readings to judge
7. 7Lund Lake9.7 hatoo few readings to judge
8. 8New Lake8.5 hatoo few readings to judge
9. 9Unnamed lake in the St. Mary River watershed (sampled as “Campbell Lake”)5.6 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 Cranbrook City station, about 4 km from the middle of the area's addresses at Cranbrook (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 or days with snow on the ground, 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.

Plant hardiness zone: most homes here are in zone 5a (59%); 30% are in 4b, 11% are in 5b, 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 1,140 kWh a year for each kW of panels at the middle of the area's addresses at Cranbrook, about 52 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 Cranbrook, climate models project about 19 more days over 30 °C a year, a longest frost-free run about 30 days longer and about 10 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 24 days over 30 °C a year in 2041-2070 (range 16 to 45 across the models), against about 5 days in 1971-2000; a longest frost-free run of about 145 days (range 130 to 170), against about 115; and about 80% of winter's precipitation falling as snow (range 72% to 82%), 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 Cranbrook: 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 the middle of the area's addresses at Cranbrook, a cloud-to-ground flash within 10 km on about 13 days a year and 0.28 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); 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 59 km of active oil and gas pipeline in Area C, permitted to FortisBC Energy Inc. Under a kilometre 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 14 active waste discharge authorizations in Area C; the commonest kinds: sewage treatment or discharge site (7), composting site (2) and land-based fish farm (1). Of these, 3 may discharge to air, 8 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 2 open gravel pits and quarries in Area C: Irishman Creek Gravel Pit and Lumberton Aggregate Operation; and 9 other open mine permits: 4 placer mines, 1 mineral exploration permit area 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 C is 6% private, 16% Crown land with a parcel drawn (3% with no title), 1% the local government's; no parcel is mapped over 77%, 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 47 active Crown range tenures (47 grazing) reaching into Area C, over 75% of its area, licensed for about 16,740 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 85% of the area and 11 guide outfitter territories over 79% in Area C. 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 C lies in wildlife management units 4-22 (40%), 4-4 (21%), 4-5 (14%), 4-3 (11%), 4-20 (8%): 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 (Gilnockie Creek Ecological Reserve; Gilnockie Park, a provincial park; Jimsmith Lake Park, a provincial park; Moyie Lake Park, a provincial park; and 3 more) reaching into Area C, over 1% of its land. Recreation Sites and Trails BC lists 17 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).