PlaceDossier / BC places / Fraser Valley
Fraser Valley, Electoral Area B
An electoral area of the Fraser Valley Regional District. 869 people lived here in 2021, down 2.6% from 2016, on 3,111 km² of land. It takes in Sunshine Valley, Yale, Dogwood Valley, Laidlaw and 4 more.
BC place · electoral area
How Area B compares with BC's other rural areas
Typical for its size No scheduled buses, no licensed child care on the Province's list, 3 fire halls and a 24-hour emergency department 21 km away.
How we compare
Each figure is set against BC's places of the same kind: cities of 50,000 or more, towns of 10,000 to 50,000, towns of 2,000 to 10,000, villages and towns under 2,000, or rural electoral areas. A figure stands out when it's among the top tenth of its kind at the end that matters to a buyer and clearly off the typical one, the middle place of that kind. Where fewer than 15 places of its kind have the figure, it's set against all BC places with it. A figure only counts when its source speaks for the place: a climate or air station within 15 km and 300 m of its ground, the place's own police service, at least 1,000 people for census figures and 25 homes for internet. A point that stands out has an ochre bar on its left, its section's stamp is filled ochre, and a dot in the bar at the top of the page marks that section; "Typical for its size" is a plain outline and "Nothing on record" a dotted one. In each strip a tick is one place, the tall tick the typical one, the dot this place, and the end that matters on the right. Facts that matter at any size (an evacuation order, emergency care far away, little mobile coverage) are said whatever the size, and mark a section as standing out only when they too are in the top tenth of its kind. A section is marked typical only where a figure in it is set against the typical one and none sits far from it (outside the middle half of its kind, or clearly off the typical one), and "nothing on record" only where it shows nothing.
Hazards Typical for its size
Evacuations: an order to leave, in August 2026 (fire). The Province's record starts in April 2017. One of 65 of BC's 159 rural electoral areas with one.
- Burned by wildfire since 1996
- 4.6% typical rural area: 2%
- Years with a mapped wildfire since 1917
- 50, the latest 2025
- Evacuation events since April 2017
- 1 with an order to leave, 3 with alerts only; the latest August 2026, an order
- Poor-air days at the nearest air station
- 6 days a year (median), 22 km away
- Radon: homes tested at or above the guideline in its health region
- 3% in Fraser East (BC: 7.9%)
More on hazards
Its land, ranked in BC
| Here | Rank in BC | |
|---|---|---|
| In the farmland reserve (ALR) | 1.5% | 214th of 267 (tied) |
| Burned by wildfire since 1996 | 4.6% | 80th of 215 (tied) |
| Years with a mapped wildfire since 1917 | 50 | most recent 2025 |
| Under mineral, placer or coal titles | 14% | 68th of 219 (tied) |
| Land area | 3,111 km² |
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 B, together 22,430 ha, 7% of its land (ground that burned twice counts once). The most here was the Border 2 wildfire in 2026, 6,564 ha.
- 2026Border 2 wildfire6,596 ha in all6,564 ha here
- 2026Ainslie Creek wildfire69,706 ha in all · 3% of it here2,294 ha here
- 2026Norwegian Creek wildfire1,340 ha in all1,340 ha here
- 2025Turnbull Creek wildfire1,999 ha in all1,999 ha here
- 2023Maselpanik Creek wildfire1,518 ha in all1,518 ha here
- 2023Yola Creek wildfire1,070 ha in all1,070 ha here
- 2022Mcnaugh Creek wildfire1,830 ha in all1,830 ha here
- 2018Unnamed fire V121675,949 ha in all5,949 ha here
Smaller mapped fires since 2016
Since 2016, the BC Wildfire Service mapped 21 smaller fires (under 1,000 ha) that reached Area B, newest first. This season's are as mapped by November 9, 2026.
- 2026Big Burn Creek wildfire899 ha in all899 ha here
- 2026Daynar Creek wildfire722 ha in all · 63% of it here454 ha here
- 2026Porcupine Peak wildfire153 ha in all153 ha here
- 2026Dewdney Creek wildfire123 ha in all123 ha here
- 2026Unnamed fire V119089.3 ha in all9.3 ha here
- 2025Unnamed fire V11668626 ha in all626 ha here
- 2025Sailor Bar wildfire54 ha in all54 ha here
- 2025Hidden Creek wildfire29 ha in all29 ha here
And 13 more
- 2025Alexandra Bridge Park wildfire2.7 ha in all · 91% of it here2.5 ha here
- 2025Unnamed fire V120801.4 ha in all1.4 ha here
- 2025Unnamed fire V116691.2 ha in all1.2 ha here
- 2025Unnamed fire V111430.1 ha in all0.1 ha here
- 2022Flood Falls Trail wildfire758 ha in all · 39% of it here294 ha here
- 2022Twentysix Mile Creek wildfire282 ha in all282 ha here
- 2022Unnamed fire V1290115 ha in all15 ha here
- 2022Prospectors Creek wildfire4.2 ha in all4.2 ha here
- 2022Hazelton Peak wildfire3.1 ha in all3.1 ha here
- 2021Eleven Mile Creek wildfire52 ha in all52 ha here
- 2018Unnamed fire V12179411 ha in all · 78% of it here322 ha here
- 2018Unnamed fire V1090118 ha in all18 ha here
- 2017Unnamed fire V122282 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 B's land is 67% NDT2 (burned in large fires about every 200 years), 20% NDT1 (rarely burned, about every 250 to 350 years and in patches), 11% NDT5 (alpine tundra and subalpine parkland), 2% NDT3 (burned in large fires about every 100 to 150 years) and under 1% NDT4 (burned often and lightly, every 4 to 50 years). Its main biogeoclimatic zones are Coastal Western Hemlock (54%), Mountain Hemlock (26%) and Engelmann Spruce–Subalpine Fir (18%). 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 3 wildfire events with an evacuation order or alert over Area B, 1 with an order. The latest order: Brunswick Wildfire, August 2026.
- 2026Brunswick WildfireAugust 2026 · evacuation order and alert · Fraser Valley Regional District383 homes
- 2025Sailor Bar WildfireAugust 2025 · evacuation alert · Fraser Valley Regional District136 homes
- 2022Flood Falls Trail WildfireSeptember 2022 · evacuation alert · Fraser Valley Regional District46 homes
Listed when an order or alert area covered at least 5% of the land in Area B, or lay mostly in Area B 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 B. 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
Since April 2017, the Province's record holds 1 flood event with an evacuation order or alert over Area B, alerts only. The latest: Jones Creek, Wahleach Creek and Lorenzetta Creek, June 2022.
- 2022Jones Creek, Wahleach Creek and Lorenzetta CreekJune 2022 · evacuation alert (flood) · Fraser Valley Regional District69 homes
Listed when an order or alert area covered at least 5% of the land in Area B, or lay mostly in Area B 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 B. 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.
657 landslides are recorded inside Area B in the Preliminary Canadian Landslide Database (version 14.0), including 307 debris flows, 97 debris floods and 65 earth slides. The latest with a date of its own: a rock fall, 10 Aug 2025. 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 lists 3 dams in Area B, none classed High or above for the harm a failure would do downstream. 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.
4 Water Survey of Canada gauges in Area B have 5 or more years of yearly peak flows: Coquihalla River below Needle Creek peaked highest at 135 m³/s in 2021 (50 years on record), Coquihalla River above Alexander Creek peaked highest at 686 m³/s in 2021 (29 years on record) and Skagit River near Hope peaked highest at 289 m³/s in 1950 (19 years on record), among others. 3 set their 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 Hope Airport air monitoring station, 22 km from Yale, fine particles passed the level of BC's 24-hour objective (25 µg/m³) on a median of 6 days a year over the 11 years with a full record, 2015 to 2025; the most was 16 days in 2017, most of them in August. Most of these days fell from June to September, the wildfire season (our reading: mostly wildfire smoke). How smoky it gets across BC.
Radon
In the Fraser East health region, 3 of the 100 homes tested (3%) 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).
Cost to own
Rural property tax rates are set for each electoral area and its service areas; the figures and a calculator are under More.
- Typical home value against typical household income
- 7.3 years of income (fewer than 1,000 people, so a rough figure)
- Median home value (owners' estimate, 2021)
- $444,000
- Median monthly rent (2021)
- $870
- Speculation and vacancy tax
- doesn't apply here
More on cost to own
Property tax
In Area B, the Province collects the property tax. At 2026 rates every home here pays at least $4.07 per $1,000 of assessed value: about $4,071 a year on a $1,000,000 home, before the home owner grant. Local service areas (fire protection, recreation, street lighting, water and others) cover parts of the area and add to that, up to $7.79 per $1,000 each; which ones cover a given lot is on its tax notice.
- Regional district (the electoral area's share) $1.55
- Regional hospital district $0.43
- School (set by the Province) $1.55
- Provincial rural tax $0.39
- Police tax $0.11
- Other $0.04
On $500,000: at least about $2,035 a year; on $1,000,000: at least about $4,071, at 2026 rates, before the home owner grant.
Your bill uses BC Assessment's value for the property, which can differ from its price, and may also include parcel taxes and utility fees (water, sewer, garbage) that aren't rates on value. The home owner grant takes up to $570 off the bill of a home its owner lives in ($770 in the Province's northern and rural area in 2026, and up to $845, or $1,045 there, for seniors, veterans and people with a disability), for homes assessed at $2,075,000 or less in 2026; above that it shrinks by $5 for each $1,000. From 2027 the northern and rural extra ends and the regular grant is $570 everywhere. The owner applies each year, and must pay at least $350 in tax ($100 for the higher grant) after it. Our summary of the Province's page, read 2026-10-04. Rural rates aren't ranked: what a home pays depends on the service areas it's in. Confirm with the Province's Surveyor of Taxes. How property tax works in BC.
Source: The Surveyor of Taxes' rural tax rates, 2026, Province of BC (the rates only: facts set in public bylaws, not open data); Home owner grant, Province of BC (summarised in our words, read 2026-10-04).
Area B 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 7.3 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.
Land for sale nearby
The 5 nearest listings on AcreScout within 25 km of Yale, nearest first.
| Listing | Asking price | Size | Per acre | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31010 Trans Canada Highway Yale Dogwood ValleyYale, listed 184 days ago | $349,000 | 1 acre | $349,000 an acre | 800 m |
| 2–30860 Trans Canada Highway Yale Dogwood ValleyYale, listed 140 days ago | $66,000 | Not given | – | 1 km |
| 42–30860 Trans Canada Highway Yale Dogwood Valley Yale British ColumbiYale, listed 492 days ago | $99,000 | Not given | – | 7.5 km |
| 27383 Dogwood Valley Road Yale Dogwood ValleyHope, date not given | $899,900 | 4.27 acres | $210,749 an acre | 7.5 km |
| 27000 Trans Canada Highway Yale Dogwood ValleyYale, listed 60 days ago | $2,150,000 | 18 acres | $119,444 an acre | 7.9 km |
Distances are straight lines to the listing's pin. Where AcreScout places a listing only roughly, no distance is given, only the place it's near. Per acre is left out under about an acre. Asking prices are what sellers ask, not what land sells for.
Listings: AcreScout, a Buretto site; active listings as of 2026-11-15. Asking prices set by the sellers; not a valuation.
Source: Census of Population 2021, Statistics Canada (Statistics Canada Open Licence).
What you can build Typical for its size
On a lot zoned for a house, the zoning must allow at least a secondary suite or a garden suite (the provincial minimum).
- Homes allowed on a house lot (provincial minimum)
- a house and a secondary suite or garden suite
- Short-term rentals
- The Province's principal residence requirement doesn't apply in Area B (list in force from June 1, 2026).
- In the farmland reserve (ALR)
- 1.5% typical rural area: 4%
More on what you can build
In Area B, 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 B (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 B can't name the zone: we have no open zoning map for it (see the places covered).
Ask the Fraser Valley Regional District for a lot's zone and what it allows.
The Province's list of heritage conservation areas has one in Area B: the Fraser Valley Regional District's Yale Heritage Precinct Conservation Area. On a lot inside one, subdividing, building, adding on or altering a building or the land needs a heritage alteration permit first, unless the plan exempts the work; a report says whether a lot is inside. What a heritage conservation area means for a property.
The federal boundaries put 37 reserves of 7 First Nations in or beside Area B. 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 Fraser Valley Regional District's building inspection covers part of Area B (Building Bylaw No. 1188, 2013): land a Ministry of Transportation or municipal road reaches. There a building permit is needed and the work is inspected; elsewhere in the area it issues none. The bylaw exempts land no Ministry of Transportation or municipal road reaches. The BC Building Code applies everywhere all the same. Our reading of the Fraser Valley Regional District's own page, checked 2026-10-07. Do you need a building permit on rural land?
The Province maps 9 designated community watersheds, Yale Community Watershed, Inkawthia Community Watershed and Skeemis Community Watershed among them, over 2% of Area B: 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).
Living here Typical for its size
No scheduled buses, no licensed child care on the Province's list, 3 fire halls and a 24-hour emergency department 21 km away.
- Homes with 50/10 Mbps internet or faster
- 94% typical rural area: 81%
- Homes with LTE mobile coverage
- 87%
- Nearest emergency department open around the clock
- Hope, 21 km in a straight line
- Fire halls
- 3 on the Province's list; the nearest 100 m from Yale
- Buses
- no scheduled buses
- Licensed child care
- none on the Province's list
- Crime, weighted for how serious it is
- no police service of its own in Statistics Canada's figures: those of the Hope RCMP detachment (rural) are under More
More on living here
Internet
93.6% of homes in Area B have 50/10 Mbps or faster recorded, wired or fixed wireless, against 97.6% across BC. 4.2% have nothing at 25/5 Mbps or faster.
| Share of homes here | BC | |
|---|---|---|
| 50/10 Mbps or faster, wired or fixed wireless | 93.6% | 97.6% |
| 50/10 Mbps or faster over a wired line | 80% | 96.2% |
| 50/10 Mbps or faster over fixed wireless | 35% | 87% |
| Nothing at 25/5 Mbps or faster | 4.2% | 1.4% |
| LTE mobile coverage | 87% | 99.1% |
| Homes counted (2021) | 598 | 2,170,255 |
| Rank in BC, homes without 50/10 Mbps | 117th of 248 | |
This is the service providers report to the federal government (ISED), counted over each area's homes in the 2021 census. It isn't a promise for any address: ask providers whether they serve it and what it costs to connect. Satellite service, which needs only a clear view of the sky, isn't counted. Data released May 2026. What internet can a given lot get?
Source: National Broadband Data (May 2026) and Pseudo-Household Demographic Distribution (2021), Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (Open Government Licence – Canada); 2021 census subdivision boundaries, Statistics Canada (Statistics Canada Open Licence).
Nearest hospital
The nearest hospital on the Province's list (updated 2026-10-01) is Fraser Canyon Hospital, Hope, about 21 km in a straight line from Yale. Its emergency department's hours on HealthLink BC's list: 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Roads are longer than these straight lines, and a small town's emergency department can close for a shift when it's short of staff: the health authority posts these as service changes. In an emergency, call 9-1-1. How far is the nearest hospital from a property?
Source: Hospitals in BC, HealthLinkBC (Open Government Licence – British Columbia); Emergency Rooms in BC, HealthLinkBC (Open Government Licence – British Columbia).
Fire protection
In Area B, a fire department answers calls only inside the fire protection area its service bylaw sets, so a hall nearby doesn't by itself mean a lot is covered: ask the Fraser Valley Regional District which department responds, if any. The Province's list (updated 2026-09-11) has three fire halls in Area B: Sunshine Valley Volunteer Fire Department, Yale Volunteer Fire Department Hall 1 and Yale Volunteer Fire Department Hall 2. The nearest to Yale is Yale Volunteer Fire Department Hall 1, about 100 m away in a straight line. Home insurers ask the road distance to the hall that responds, which can be far longer than the straight line. How far is the nearest fire hall, and what insurers ask
Source: First Responders (fire halls and ambulance stations), GeoBC (Open Government Licence – British Columbia).
Crime
The Hope RCMP detachment (rural) reported a crime severity index of 142 in 2025, above BC's 92; down 8% since 2015 (BC unchanged).
| Crime severity index, 2025 | 142 (BC 92) |
|---|---|
| Violent / non-violent index | 109 / 156 (BC 98 / 91) |
| Crime severity index, 2015 | 154 (BC 93) |
| Change since 2015 | Down 8% (BC unchanged) |
| Break and enter, per 100,000 people, 2025 | 464 (BC 281) |
| Theft of a vehicle, per 100,000 people, 2025 | 869 (BC 138) |
| Theft from a vehicle, per 100,000 people, 2025 | 695 (BC 441) |
| Violent crime, per 100,000 people, 2025 | 2,318 (BC 1,531) |
| All Criminal Code offences (not traffic), per 100,000 people, 2025 | 11,877 (BC 6,943) |
Inferred: the nearest RCMP rural detachment Statistics Canada publishes figures for, about 11 km away. BC's police boundaries aren't open data, so the detachment that actually polices this place may be another.
The crime severity index weighs each offence by how serious it is (one assault counts for more than several thefts), with Canada in 2006 set at 100. Rates are per 100,000 people living in the police service's area, so places with many visitors, commuters or seasonal homes read high, and in small places a few incidents swing the figures a lot. These are crimes reported to police, not all crime.
Source: Statistics Canada, Table 35-10-0063-01, Crime severity index and weighted clearance rates, police services in British Columbia (Statistics Canada Open Licence); Statistics Canada, Table 35-10-0184-01, Incident-based crime statistics, by detailed violations, police services in British Columbia (Statistics Canada Open Licence).
Water
148 water-supply wells on record; half are deeper than 29 m, and the median tested yield is 151 L/min.
- Water-supply wells on record
- 148; half deeper than 29 m; median tested yield 151 L/min
- Rank in BC for well depth
- 170th of 245 (tied)
More on water
The Province's monitoring records hold groundwater samples from 1 well in Area B, 2012, among them 1 water system's well. 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
8 mapped aquifers lie in Area B, most wells first.
- 1Aquifer 1176: Fraser Canyon, Choate to Yaleunconfined sand and gravel (large river system)55 wells · moderate productivity
- 2Aquifer 1188: Fraser Canyon, from Yale to Haigfractured crystalline bedrock23 wells · productivity not rated
- 3Aquifer 3: Laidlawunconfined sand and gravel (large river system)16 wells · moderate productivity
- 4Aquifer 2: Chawathilunconfined sand and gravel (large river system)14 wells · high productivity
- 5Aquifer 1189: Eastern Kawkawa Lakefractured crystalline bedrock11 wells · moderate productivity
- 6Aquifer 1177: Coquihalla Canyonunconfined sand and gravel (medium stream system)7 wells · moderate productivity
- 7Aquifer 1178: Eastern Kawkawa Lakeunconfined sand and gravel (late glacial outwash)5 wells · moderate productivity
- 8Aquifer 1190: Lower Coquihalla Canyonfractured crystalline bedrock4 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 B. 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
No lake in Area B has clarity or nutrient readings in the province's monitoring records.
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).
Climate and sun
January averages 2.2 °C and July 18.8 °C, with 78 cm of snow a year, at the Laidlaw station, 25 km from Yale (1981-2010 normals).
- January mean temperature
- 2.2 °C*
- July mean temperature
- 18.8 °C*
- Yearly precipitation
- 2,187 mm*
- Yearly snowfall
- 78 cm*
Winter sun
About 4 h 40 min of possible direct sun on December 21 at Yale, against 8 h on open ground; a lot on a slope or bench can differ by hours: open any lot's report for its own.
On March 21, 9 h against 12 h; on June 21, 11 h 40 min against 16 h 10 min. Our estimate from the terrain around the point, ground at about 71 m, seen from head height: trees, buildings and cloud aren't counted. On BC's least winter sun ranking (December sun as a share of open ground) it is 37th of 310 (tied). How winter sun is read.
More on climate and sun
| 1981-2010 normals | Rank in BC | |
|---|---|---|
| January mean temperature | 2.2 °C* | Not ranked* |
| July mean temperature | 18.8 °C* | Not ranked* |
| Yearly precipitation | 2,187 mm* | |
| Yearly snowfall | 78 cm* | Not ranked* |
| Wettest day in the station's record to 2010 | 131.6 mm of rain and melted snow, February 21, 2002 | |
| Most snow in a day in the station's record to 2010 | 39 cm, December 30, 1990 | |
| Deepest snow on the ground in the station's record to 2010 | 89 cm, February 19, 1986 |
Normals for 1981-2010 at the Laidlaw station, about 25 km from Yale (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, days over 30 °C 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 15 km from the place.
Plant hardiness zone: most homes here are in zone 6b (44%); 42% are in 8a, 11% are in 7b, 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 960 kWh a year for each kW of panels at Yale, about 36 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 Yale, climate models project about 7 more days over 30 °C a year, a longest frost-free run about 40 days longer and about 20 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 19 across the models), against about 1 day in 1971-2000; a longest frost-free run of about 195 days (range 175 to 235), against about 155; and about 38% of winter's precipitation falling as snow (range 24% to 40%), against about 58%. 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 Yale: faint, as around Wells or Lytton (our reading), and darker than about 90% 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 Yale, a cloud-to-ground flash within 10 km on about 3 days a year and 0.04 flashes per km² a year (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).
Land use around
1 major project in assessment or approved in or near Area B on the Environmental Assessment Office's register; 14% of its land is under mineral, placer or coal titles.
- Major projects in assessment or approved, in or within 5 km
- 1: South Anderson Mountain Resort
- Under mineral, placer or coal titles
- 14%
- Who holds them
- Largest company holders: New Carolin Gold Corp (31% of the land under title), Ximen Mining Corp (8.1%), Barrick Gold Inc. (6.1%); private individuals hold titles over 44% of it, on the Province's record as of October 29, 2026.
More on land use around
Major projects in Area B
The Environmental Assessment Office's register places 1 major project in assessment or approved in Area B or within 5 km of it: South Anderson Mountain Resort (resort development, in assessment (early engagement)).
| Project | Decision | Phase | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Anderson Mountain ResortResort Developments | In Progress | Early Engagement | In Area B |
Closed: 6 withdrawn, terminated, refused, expired or not reviewable
- Cogburn Magnesium (mineral mine, withdrawn 2007; in Area B)
- Giant Copper (mineral mine, found not to need an assessment 2019 (it may still go ahead under other permits); in Area B)
- Hills Bar Aggregate Quarrying (sand and gravel pit, withdrawn 2016; in Area B)
- Coquihalla Pass Resort Development (ski resort, withdrawn; about 900 m outside)
- Seabird Island (water diversion, withdrawn 2019; about 1.2 km outside)
- Inland Pacific Connector (transmission pipeline, withdrawn 2011; about 4.7 km outside)
Major projects are those large enough to need a provincial environmental assessment: mines, power plants, pipelines, transmission lines, highways, ports and resorts. The register places each at one point; a mine, pipeline or line can reach well past it, so check the project's own page for its maps. A property report lists those within 10 km of a lot; every project in BC by place.
Source: Environmental Assessment Office project points (EPIC), Province of BC, as of 2026-11-02 (Open Government Licence – British Columbia); 2021 census subdivision boundaries, Statistics Canada (Statistics Canada Open Licence).
The BC Energy Regulator maps about 54 km of active oil and gas pipeline in Area B, permitted to 2 companies: Trans Mountain Pipeline ULC and Westcoast Energy GP Inc. About 113 km more is on recent permits it lists as new. 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 B; the commonest kinds: sewage treatment or discharge site (9), soil amendment (biosolids or other wastes spread on land) (3) and farm operation (2). Of these, 1 may discharge to air and 10 effluent to water or 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 one open gravel pit or quarry in Area B: Ajay Pit - Laidlaw Road; and one open mineral exploration 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 B is 2% private, 4% Crown land with a parcel drawn (3% with no title); no parcel is mapped over 94%, 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 2 active Crown range tenures (2 grazing) reaching into Area B, over less than 1% of its area, licensed for about 4,812 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 25 registered traplines over 83% of the area and 4 guide outfitter territories over 88% in Area B. 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 B lies in wildlife management units 2-17 (32%), 2-2 (31%), 2-18 (18%), 2-1 (9%), 3-14 (5%): the Hunting and Trapping Regulations Synopsis sets seasons and closed areas by unit. Hunting and shooting on your own property.
BC Parks maps 16 parks and protected areas (Coquihalla Canyon Park, a provincial park; Coquihalla River Park, a provincial park; Coquihalla Summit Recreation Area; E.c. Manning Park, a provincial park; and 12 more) reaching into Area B, over 24% of its land. Recreation Sites and Trails BC lists 4 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).
People
869 people in 2021, down 2.6% from 2016; the median age is 57.2.
| Here | BC | |
|---|---|---|
| Population, 2021 | 869 | 5,000,879 |
| Change since 2016 | -2.6% | +7.6% |
| Median age | 57.2 | 42.8 |
| Under 15 | 10.9% | 14.3% |
| 65 and over | 29.3% | 20.3% |
| Median household income (2020) | $61,200 | $85,000 |
| Homes owned by the people living in them | 77.6% | 66.8% |
| Single-detached houses | 80.8% | 42.4% |
| Movable dwellings (mobile homes and the like) | 15.4% | 2.5% |
| Built before 1961 | 17.1% | 12.5% |
| Needing major repairs | 17.1% | 5.8% |
| Median home value (owners' estimate) | $444,000 | $785,000 |
| Median monthly rent | $870 | $1,370 |
| Worked from home | 16.9% | 22.6% |
| Unemployment rate | 7.0% | 8.4% |
Bars: the dark bar is this place, the red mark is BC.
Who lives here
| Here | BC | |
|---|---|---|
| Indigenous identity | 9.0% | 5.9% |
| Immigrants | 14.8% | 29.0% |
| Visible minority | 7.1% | 34.4% |
| No religion or a secular outlook | 58.7% | 52.1% |
Census figures, shown for context like the others. We don't rank or score places on these.
More on people
Fewer than 1,000 people live here, so Statistics Canada rounds these counts and leaves out some figures (shown as –).
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).