Metro Vancouver, Electoral Area A

Its land, ranked in BC

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

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

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

Smaller mapped fires since 2016

Since 2016, the BC Wildfire Service mapped one smaller fire (under 1,000 ha) that reached Area A, newest first.

1. 2019Strip Creek wildfire4.5 ha in all4.5 ha here

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

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

How the land burned

On the Province's ecosystem map, Area A's land is 79% NDT1 (rarely burned, about every 250 to 350 years and in patches), 14% NDT2 (burned in large fires about every 200 years) and 7% NDT5 (alpine tundra and subalpine parkland). Its main biogeoclimatic zones are Coastal Western Hemlock (70%) and Mountain Hemlock (28%). 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 A.

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

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

Evacuations for floods, landslides and other hazards since April 2017

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

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

202 landslides are recorded inside Area A in the Preliminary Canadian Landslide Database (version 14.0), including 82 debris flows, 45 debris avalanches and 35 rock falls. The latest with a date of its own: a debris avalanche, 14 Dec 2024. 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 about 10.5 km of dikes in Area A, along Fraser River, Howe Sound and Newman Creek; the longest are the Barnston Island dike and the Ocean Point Near Newman Creek dike. 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 8 dams in Area A, 2 of them classed High or above for the harm a failure would do downstream: Coquitlam Dam (Extreme) and Seymour Falls (Extreme). 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.

7 Water Survey of Canada gauges in Area A have 5 or more years of yearly peak flows: Coquitlam River above Coquitlam Lake peaked highest at 226 m³/s in 2021 (42 years on record), Seymour River above Lakehead peaked highest at 465 m³/s in 2012 (25 years on record) and Seymour River below Orchid Creek peaked highest at 179 m³/s in 2025, equalling 2021 (25 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 Vancouver International Airport #2 air monitoring station, 11 km from Vancouver, fine particles passed the level of BC's 24-hour objective (25 µg/m³) on a median of 2 days a year over the 11 years with a full record, 2015 to 2025; the most was 8 days in 2020, most of them in September. Most of these days fell from June to September, the wildfire season (our reading: mostly wildfire smoke). How smoky it gets across BC.

Radon

Area A lies in 2 health regions. In Fraser North (about 35% of the area), none of the 108 homes tested were at or above the 200 Bq/m³ guideline; In North Shore/Coast Garibaldi (about 22% of the area), 2 of the 81 homes tested (2.5%) were at or above the 200 Bq/m³ guideline, in Health Canada's 2009–2011 survey; 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).

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

The Province's principal residence requirement applies in Area A (list in force from June 1, 2026): a short-term rental (under 90 days) is limited to the host's own home plus one secondary suite or garden suite on the same property. Land assessed as a farm (class 9) is exempt. Local bylaws, including the zone's own rules, can be stricter. Hosts anywhere in BC register each unit with the provincial registry. Short-term rental rules in BC.

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

Ask the Metro Vancouver Regional District for a lot's zone and what it allows.

The federal boundaries put 5 reserves of Katzie, Musqueam and Tsleil-Waututh Nation in or beside Area A. On reserve land the First Nation decides land use, not the local zoning bylaw; a report says when a lot is on reserve land or within 500 m of it. Reserve land in BC, by place.

68 titled lots in Area A are in the Islands Trust's Gambier Island local trust area (counted by us on the Province's map). There a local trust committee writes the zoning, and the Province's small-scale housing minimums don't apply. A report says when a lot is in one. Buying on the Gulf Islands: what the Islands Trust decides.

Metro Vancouver's building inspection covers part of Area A (Electoral Area A Building Administration Bylaw No. 1043, 2006): every community but UBC and the University Endowment Lands. There a building permit is needed and the work is inspected; elsewhere in the area it issues none. The BC Building Code applies everywhere all the same. Our reading of Metro Vancouver's own page, checked 2026-10-07. Do you need a building permit on rural land?

The Province maps 11 designated community watersheds, Capilano Community Watershed, Seymour Community Watershed and Or Community Watershed among them, over 17% of Area A: land draining to a licensed drinking-water intake, where logging and roads on Crown land must protect the supply. A report says whether a lot lies in one and whose water it is. Community watersheds in BC, by place.

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

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

Mapped aquifers

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

1. 1Aquifer 49: Vancouver-Quadra Sandsconfined sand and gravel (glacial)29 wells · moderate productivity
2. 2Aquifer 40: Barnston Islandunconfined sand and gravel (large river system)2 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

2 sampled lakes lie in Area A, largest first.

1. 1Coquitlam Lake12 km²too few readings to judge
2. 2Seymour Lake (Squamish watershed)3 km²too few readings to judge

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

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

Normals for 1991-2020 at the Vancouver Airport station, about 9 km from the middle of the area's addresses at Vancouver (of the communities here with a station within 30 km, the one with the most addresses). * Based on at least 25, 20 or 15 of the 30 years, short of the World Meteorological Organization's standard: treat as a rougher guide. The records are single days measured at the station: the most rain, snow and wind it saw in 1991-2020. Each is one event, not what to expect in a year, and the lot can get more or less than the station. Elevation matters a lot in BC: a hillside lot can be much colder and snowier than the station.

Plant hardiness zone: most homes here are in zone 9a (97%), 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 1,010 kWh a year for each kW of panels at the middle of the area's addresses at Vancouver, about 30 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 Vancouver, climate models project about 4 more days over 30 °C a year, a longest frost-free run about 65 days longer and about 6 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 5 days over 30 °C a year in 2041-2070 (range 2 to 13 across the models), against about 1 day in 1971-2000; a longest frost-free run of about 300 days (range 270 to 320), against about 235; and about 4% of winter's precipitation falling as snow (range 2% to 6%), against about 10%. 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 Vancouver: like a town centre or a city suburb such as Nelson, Smithers or Salmon Arm (our reading), and brighter than about 64% 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 Vancouver, a cloud-to-ground flash within 10 km on about 3 days a year and 0.03 flashes per km² a year, less than at half of BC homes (the Canadian Lightning Detection Network, 1998-2025 average, on a grid of about 11 by 7 km).

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

The BC Energy Regulator maps about 48 km of active oil and gas pipeline in Area A, permitted to FortisBC Energy Inc. 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 6 active waste discharge authorizations in Area A; the commonest kinds: sewage treatment or discharge site (3), composting site (1) and hazardous waste storage or treatment (1). Of these, 3 may discharge effluent to water or land and 1 refuse to land. Metro Vancouver's own air permits aren't on that list. A report lists any within 2 km of a lot, and flags one whose point is on it. Permitted discharges in BC, by place.

On ParcelMap BC, the land in Area A is 2% private, 5% Crown land with a parcel drawn (4% with no title), 2% the local government's; no parcel is mapped over 91%, 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 Province maps 3 registered traplines over 11% of the area and 2 guide outfitter territories over 17% 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 2-8 (67%), 2-4 (17%), 2-16 (16%): the Hunting and Trapping Regulations Synopsis sets seasons and closed areas by unit. Hunting and shooting on your own property.

BC Parks maps 4 parks and protected areas (Cypress Park, a provincial park; Mount Seymour Park, a provincial park; Pinecone Burke Park, a provincial park; and Say Nuth Khaw Yum Park (also called Indian Arm Park), a provincial park) reaching into Area A, over 18% of its land. 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).