PlaceDossier / BC places / Central Kootenay
BC region · regional district
Central Kootenay Regional District
Castlegar, Creston, Kaslo, Nakusp, Nelson, New Denver, Salmo, Silverton and Slocan and 11 electoral areas, 23,137 km² in all. 62,416 people lived in them in 2021, up 5.1% from 2016, not counting First Nations reserves, which the census counts on their own. 2.7% of the land is in the farmland reserve, and 8.8% 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Castlegar city | 8,338 | 23 km² | 0.3% | under 0.1% |
| Creston town | 5,583 | 8 km² | 5.2% | none |
| Kaslo village | 1,049 | 3 km² | none | none |
| Nakusp village | 1,589 | 9 km² | 20% | none |
| Nelson city | 11,106 | 16 km² | none | none |
| New Denver village | 487 | 2 km² | none | none |
| Salmo village | 1,140 | 3 km² | 7.2% | none |
| Silverton village | 149 | 1 km² | none | none |
| Slocan village | 379 | 1 km² | none | none |
| Electoral Area A | 2,241 | 1,914 km² | 0.3% | 10% |
| Electoral Area B | 4,802 | 1,621 km² | 4.2% | 4.7% |
| Electoral Area C | 1,475 | 775 km² | 19% | 8.3% |
| Electoral Area D | 1,462 | 5,988 km² | 1.3% | 9.1% |
| Electoral Area E | 3,897 | 884 km² | 1.2% | 11% |
| Electoral Area F | 4,116 | 416 km² | none | 6.8% |
| Electoral Area G | 1,650 | 1,517 km² | 1.6% | 3.4% |
| Electoral Area H | 5,045 | 3,387 km² | 1.4% | 9.2% |
| Electoral Area I | 2,607 | 114 km² | 11% | under 0.1% |
| Electoral Area J | 3,517 | 1,808 km² | 0.4% | 21% |
| Electoral Area K | 1,784 | 4,647 km² | 4.9% | 6.2% |
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
We have no open zoning map of the Central Kootenay Regional District's electoral areas, so reports there don't name the zone; each area's page says what we know and whom to ask. Each of its 9 municipalities zones its own land; its page says what we show there.
Building permits
Where the Central Kootenay Regional District's building inspection covers its electoral areas (Building Bylaw No. 2200, 2010): there a building permit is needed and the work is inspected.
| Electoral area | Covered by building inspection |
|---|---|
| Electoral Area A | All of the area |
| Electoral Area B | All of the area |
| Electoral Area C | All of the area |
| Electoral Area D | All of the area |
| Electoral Area E | All of the area |
| Electoral Area F | All of the area |
| Electoral Area G | All of the area |
| Electoral Area H | All of the area |
| Electoral Area I | All of the area |
| Electoral Area J | All of the area |
| Electoral Area K | All of the area |
Our reading of the Regional District of Central Kootenay'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, 48 wildfires of 1,000 ha or more burned in the Central Kootenay Regional District's places, in 12 seasons. The largest here:
- 2021Octopus Creek wildfire22,042 ha in all22,038 ha here
- 2024Argenta Creek wildfire19,153 ha in all19,153 ha here
- 2021Michaud Creek #1 wildfire14,248 ha in all14,079 ha here
- 2003Unnamed by the BC Wildfire Service (fire N70556)7,984 ha in all7,984 ha here
- 2021Cultus Creek wildfire7,589 ha in all7,589 ha here
- 2018Unnamed by the BC Wildfire Service (fire N72301)6,798 ha in all6,798 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 5 major projects in assessment or approved in the Central Kootenay Regional District's places.
- Zincton All-Season ResortIn assessment; in Electoral Area D.
- Brilliant Powerplant ExpansionApproved; in Castlegar.
- Keenleyside PowerplantApproved; in Castlegar.
- Pingston Creek HydroelectricApproved; in Electoral Area K.
- Southern Crossing PipelineApproved; in Electoral Area G.
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, Cariboo, Central Coast, 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.