Kootenay Boundary C / Christina Lake

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 Kootenay Boundary C / Christina Lake since 1990, in the BC Wildfire Service's perimeters.

Smaller mapped fires since 2016

Since 2016, the BC Wildfire Service mapped 5 smaller fires (under 1,000 ha) that reached Kootenay Boundary C / Christina Lake, newest first. This season's are as mapped by November 9, 2026.

1. 2026Unnamed fire N6131948 ha in all48 ha here
2. 2025Unnamed fire N606792.5 ha in all2.5 ha here
3. 2023Unnamed fire N625901.7 ha in all1.7 ha here
4. 2022Gilpin Park wildfire256 ha in all · 70% of it here179 ha here
5. 2018Santa Rosa wildfire390 ha in all · 24% of it here95 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, Kootenay Boundary C / Christina Lake's land is 52% NDT2 (burned in large fires about every 200 years), 26% NDT4 (burned often and lightly, every 4 to 50 years), 22% NDT3 (burned in large fires about every 100 to 150 years) and under 1% NDT5 (alpine tundra and subalpine parkland). Its main biogeoclimatic zones are Interior Cedar–Hemlock (78%) and Engelmann Spruce–Subalpine Fir (17%). 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

Since April 2017, the Province's record holds 2 wildfire events with an evacuation order or alert over Kootenay Boundary C / Christina Lake, alerts only. The latest: Spaulding Creek Wildfire, September 2024.

1. 2024Spaulding Creek WildfireSeptember 2024 · evacuation alert · Regional District of Kootenay Boundary208 homes
2. 2018Santa RosaAugust 2018 · evacuation alert · Regional District of Kootenay Boundary20 homes

Listed when an order or alert area covered at least 5% of the land in Kootenay Boundary C / Christina Lake, or lay mostly in Kootenay Boundary C / Christina Lake 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 Kootenay Boundary C / Christina Lake. 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 3 flood events with an evacuation order or alert over Kootenay Boundary C / Christina Lake, 1 with an order. The latest order: Zones 69, 70, 72,74,75,77 and 78, May 2018.

1. 2023Freshet 2023May 2023 · evacuation alert (flood) · Regional District of Kootenay Boundary
2. 2020Carmi on West Kettle River to Christina LakeMay 2020 · evacuation alert (flood) · Regional District of Kootenay Boundary
3. 2018Zones 69, 70, 72,74,75,77 and 78May 2018 · evacuation order (flood) · Regional District of Kootenay Boundary181 homes

Listed when an order or alert area covered at least 5% of the land in Kootenay Boundary C / Christina Lake, or lay mostly in Kootenay Boundary C / Christina Lake 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 Kootenay Boundary C / Christina Lake. 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.

7 landslides are recorded inside Kootenay Boundary C / Christina Lake in the Preliminary Canadian Landslide Database (version 14.0), including 2 earth slides, 1 debris avalanche and 1 debris flow. 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 one dam in Kootenay Boundary C / Christina Lake, classed High or above for the harm a failure would do downstream: Moody Pond Dam (Very 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.

Poor-air days: at the Grand Forks City Hall air monitoring station, 17 km from Christina Lake, fine particles passed the level of BC's 24-hour objective (25 µg/m³) on a median of 13 days a year over the 11 years with a full record, 2015 to 2025; the most was 33 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 Kootenay Boundary health region, 32 of the 109 homes tested (29%) 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).

Kootenay Boundary C / Christina Lake 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 6.6 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 Kootenay Boundary C / Christina Lake, 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 Kootenay Boundary C / Christina Lake (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 Kootenay Boundary C / Christina Lake can't name the zone: we have no open zoning map for it (see the places covered).

Ask the Kootenay Boundary Regional District for a lot's zone and what it allows.

The Regional District of Kootenay Boundary's building inspection covers all of Kootenay Boundary C / Christina Lake (Building Bylaw No. 1753): building, adding on, moving or demolishing a building needs a building permit, and the work is inspected. Our reading of the Regional District of Kootenay Boundary's own page, checked 2026-10-07. Do you need a building permit on rural land?

The Province maps 2 designated community watersheds, Sutherland Community Watershed and Moody Community Watershed, over 20% of Kootenay Boundary C / Christina Lake: 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).

Normals for 1981-2010 at the Billings station, about 3 km from Christina Lake (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.

Plant hardiness zone: most homes here are in zone 7a (77%); 17% are in 6b, 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 1,090 kWh a year for each kW of panels at Christina Lake, about 42 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 Christina Lake, climate models project about 24 more days over 30 °C a year, a longest frost-free run about 40 days longer and about 18 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 48 days over 30 °C a year in 2041-2070 (range 43 to 71 across the models), against about 24 days in 1971-2000; a longest frost-free run of about 190 days (range 165 to 220), against about 150; and about 58% of winter's precipitation falling as snow (range 42% to 62%), against about 76%. 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 Christina Lake: 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 Christina Lake, a cloud-to-ground flash within 10 km on about 11 days a year and 0.23 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).