PlaceDossier / BC places / Cariboo
BC region · regional district
Cariboo Regional District
100 Mile House, Quesnel, Wells and Williams Lake and 12 electoral areas, 82,695 km² in all. 60,541 people lived in them in 2021, up 2.2% from 2016, not counting First Nations reserves, which the census counts on their own. 11% of the land is in the farmland reserve, and 20% has burned in a mapped wildfire since 1996.
Its places
Each place's page has its land, hazards, wells, climate, tax and census facts. Listed by name, not ranked.
| Place | People, 2021 | Land | In the farmland reserve | Burned since 1996 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100 Mile House district municipality | 1,928 | 54 km² | 60% | 4.6% |
| Quesnel city | 9,889 | 39 km² | 16% | none |
| Wells district municipality | 218 | 160 km² | none | 0.6% |
| Williams Lake city | 10,947 | 36 km² | 9.1% | 6% |
| Electoral Area A | 6,169 | 803 km² | 39% | 1.2% |
| Electoral Area B | 3,864 | 1,450 km² | 27% | under 0.1% |
| Electoral Area C | 1,239 | 7,541 km² | 1.2% | 2.9% |
| Electoral Area D | 2,870 | 877 km² | 68% | 7.3% |
| Electoral Area E | 4,112 | 1,774 km² | 68% | 4.7% |
| Electoral Area F | 4,792 | 10,314 km² | 13% | 5% |
| Electoral Area G | 5,312 | 2,790 km² | 31% | 11% |
| Electoral Area H | 1,884 | 2,770 km² | 15% | 4.2% |
| Electoral Area I | 1,485 | 12,142 km² | 4% | 40% |
| Electoral Area J | 616 | 26,674 km² | 0.2% | 23% |
| Electoral Area K | 447 | 13,880 km² | 23% | 33% |
| Electoral Area L | 4,769 | 1,392 km² | 19% | 5.7% |
Land and shares measured by us from the provincial maps (farmland reserve, BC Wildfire Service perimeters) over Statistics Canada's 2021 census subdivisions; people from the 2021 census.
Zoning
The Cariboo Regional District doesn't publish its zoning map as open data, so reports for its rural lots can't name the zone; they show what the zones of the bylaw that may apply allow, and say to ask. Each of its 4 municipalities zones its own land; its page says what we show there.
- North Cariboo Area Rural Land Use Bylaw No. 3505, 1999Electoral Areas A, B, C and I. Its rural zones summarised in plain words, checked against the bylaw 2026-10-04.
- Williams Lake Fringe and 150 Mile House Area Zoning Bylaw No. 3502, 1999Electoral Areas D, E and F. Its rural zones summarised in plain words, checked against the bylaw 2026-10-04.
- Central Cariboo Area Rural Land Use Bylaw No. 3503, 1999Electoral Areas D, E and F. Its rural zones summarised in plain words, checked against the bylaw 2026-10-04.
- South Cariboo Area Zoning Bylaw No. 3501, 1999Electoral Areas G, H and L. Its rural zones summarised in plain words, checked against the bylaw 2026-10-04.
- Chilcotin Area Rural Land Use Bylaw No. 3500, 1999Electoral Areas J and K. Its rural zones summarised in plain words, checked against the bylaw 2026-10-04.
Ask the Cariboo Regional District which zone a lot is in, and confirm what it allows before you buy or build. Every zoning bylaw we cover.
Building permits
Where the Cariboo Regional District's building inspection covers its electoral areas (Building Bylaw No. 4997): there a building permit is needed and the work is inspected.
| Electoral area | Covered by building inspection |
|---|---|
| Electoral Area A | Part of the area The North Cariboo service area around Quesnel |
| Electoral Area B | Part of the area The North Cariboo service area around Quesnel |
| Electoral Area C | Part of the area The North Cariboo service area around Quesnel |
| Electoral Area D | Part of the area The Central Cariboo service area around Williams Lake |
| Electoral Area E | Part of the area The Central Cariboo service area around Williams Lake |
| Electoral Area F | Part of the area The Central Cariboo service area around Williams Lake |
| Electoral Area G | All of the area |
| Electoral Area H | All of the area |
| Electoral Area I | Part of the area The North Cariboo service area around Quesnel |
| Electoral Area J | None |
| Electoral Area K | None |
| Electoral Area L | All of the area |
Our reading of the Cariboo Regional District's own page, checked 2026-10-07. Inside a municipality, the town or city runs its own building permits; the BC Building Code applies everywhere. Do you need a building permit on rural land?
Wildfire
Since 1990, 134 wildfires of 1,000 ha or more burned in the Cariboo Regional District's places, in 16 seasons. The largest here:
- 2017Plateau wildfire520,885 ha in all520,655 ha here
- 2017Hanceville-Riske Creek wildfire239,340 ha in all237,585 ha here
- 2009Lava Canyon wildfire67,743 ha in all67,744 ha here
- 2018Tweedsmuir Complex wildfire79,394 ha in all63,416 ha here
- 2025Itcha Lake wildfire57,886 ha in all57,886 ha here
- 2018Unnamed by the BC Wildfire Service (fire VA1964)44,817 ha in all44,817 ha here
Each place's page lists every large and smaller mapped fire in it. Every BC season and large fire since 1990.
Major projects
The Environmental Assessment Office's register places 7 major projects in assessment or approved in the Cariboo Regional District's places.
- Gibraltar Copper-Molybdenum Mine ExpansionIn assessment; in Electoral Area D.
- Spanish Mountain Gold ProjectIn assessment; in Electoral Area F.
- Blackwater GoldApproved; in Electoral Area I.
- Cariboo Gold ProjectApproved; in Wells.
- Mt. Polley CopperApproved; in Electoral Area E.
- Nazko Lava Quarry ExtensionApproved; in Electoral Area I.
- North Lakeside WellApproved; in Williams Lake.
The register places each project at one point; a mine, pipeline or line can reach well past it. Every major project in BC by place.
Check one lot: is it in the ALR? · is it on a floodplain map? · has it burned? · how deep are the wells? · is there room for a septic field? · short-term rentals? · property tax?
Other regions: Alberni-Clayoquot, Bulkley-Nechako, Capital, Central Coast, Central Kootenay, Central Okanagan, Columbia Shuswap, Comox Valley, Cowichan Valley, East Kootenay, Fraser Valley, Fraser-Fort George, Kitimat-Stikine, Kootenay Boundary, Metro Vancouver, Mount Waddington, Nanaimo, North Coast, North Okanagan, Okanagan-Similkameen, Peace River, qathet, Squamish-Lillooet, Strathcona, Sunshine Coast, Thompson-Nicola.