Thompson-Nicola, Electoral Area L (Grasslands)

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

Since 1990, 5 wildfires of 1,000 ha or more burned in Area L, together 26,020 ha, 13% of its land (ground that burned twice counts once). The most here was the White Rock Lake wildfire in 2021, 20,149 ha.

1. 2023Bush Creek East wildfire45,745 ha in all · 3% of it here1,574 ha here
2. 2023Rossmoore Lake wildfire11,413 ha in all · under 1% of it here105 ha here
3. 2021White Rock Lake wildfire83,047 ha in all · 24% of it here20,149 ha here
4. 2009Pritchard wildfire2,187 ha in all2,187 ha here
5. 2009Notch Hill (Hilliam Mountain) wildfire2,857 ha in all · 70% of it here2,005 ha here

Smaller mapped fires since 2016

Since 2016, the BC Wildfire Service mapped 19 smaller fires (under 1,000 ha) that reached Area L, newest first. This season's are as mapped by November 9, 2026.

1. 2026Unnamed fire K4012912 ha in all12 ha here
2. 2026Unnamed fire K413028.5 ha in all8.5 ha here
3. 2025Unnamed fire K4076933 ha in all · 76% of it here25 ha here
4. 2024Newsome Creek wildfire1 ha in all · 17% of it here0.2 ha here
5. 2023Unnamed fire K2200313 ha in all13 ha here
6. 2022Napier Lake wildfire65 ha in all65 ha here
7. 2022Unnamed fire K401490.4 ha in all0.4 ha here
8. 2022Campbell Creek 2 wildfire0.2 ha in all0.2 ha here

And 11 more

1. 2022Nichol Lake wildfireunder 0.1 ha in allunder 0.1 ha here
2. 2021Napier Lake wildfire57 ha in all57 ha here
3. 2021Skimikin Road wildfire1.4 ha in all1.4 ha here
4. 2021Martin Creek Rd wildfire1.2 ha in all1.2 ha here
5. 2021Lisa Creek wildfire1.1 ha in all1.1 ha here
6. 2020Monte Creek FSR wildfire0.4 ha in all0.4 ha here
7. 2019Buse Creek wildfire22 ha in all22 ha here
8. 2019Unnamed fire K205963 ha in all3 ha here
9. 2018Unnamed fire K4187046 ha in all46 ha here
10. 2017Martin Mountain wildfire217 ha in all217 ha here
11. 2017Unnamed fire K414673.9 ha in all3.9 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 L's land is 73% NDT4 (burned often and lightly, every 4 to 50 years), 26% NDT3 (burned in large fires about every 100 to 150 years) and 1% NDT2 (burned in large fires about every 200 years). Its main biogeoclimatic zones are Interior Douglas-fir (64%) and Montane Spruce (19%). 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 4 wildfire events with an evacuation order or alert over Area L, 3 with an order. The latest order: Bush Creek East Wildfire, August 2023.

1. 2023Bush Creek East WildfireAugust 2023 · evacuation order and alert · Thompson-Nicola Regional District207 homes
2. 2023Ross Moore Lake WildfireJuly 2023 · evacuation alert · Thompson-Nicola Regional District115 homes
3. 2021White Rock Lake WildfireJuly 2021 · evacuation order and alert · Thompson-Nicola Regional District1,133 homes
4. 2021Napier Lake WildfireJuly 2021 · evacuation order · Thompson-Nicola Regional District96 homes

Listed when an order or alert area covered at least 5% of the land in Area L, or lay mostly in Area L 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 L. 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 L.

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.

28 landslides are recorded inside Area L in the Preliminary Canadian Landslide Database (version 14.0), including 9 debris flows, 8 rock rotational slides and 4 debris floods. The latest with a date of its own: a debris flood, 9 Sep 2024 (listed under “Highway 97 (Montle Lake area) - (White Rock Lake Fire - K618”). 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 70 dams in Area L, 7 of them classed High or above for the harm a failure would do downstream: Scuitto Lake Dam (Very High), Little Disdero Lakes Dam (High) and Paxton Lake Dam (High) among them. One of them is recorded as breached (failed). 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.

No Water Survey of Canada gauge with 5 or more years of yearly peaks stands in Area L. Just outside it, Chase Creek above the Mouth had its highest peak, 48.6 m³/s, in 2017 (24 years on record). 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.

Radon

In the Thompson Cariboo Shuswap health region, 7 of the 109 homes tested (6.4%) 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).

In Area L, 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 L (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 rural lots in Area L name the zone from the Thompson-Nicola Regional District's zoning map.

• TNRD Zoning Bylaw No. 2400, 2012Covers 97% of the area. 29 zones explained, from the bylaw as amended to October 1, 2026, checked October 30, 2026.

Shares of the area's land and water, worked out from the Thompson-Nicola Regional District's zoning map (Open Government Licence – Thompson-Nicola Regional District); a bylaw is listed where at least 20 ha and 1% of it lies here. Lots inside a municipality follow its own bylaw. Confirm with the TNRD's planning department before you buy or build.

Check one lot: look up its address for its zone and the share of the lot in each.

The federal boundaries put 6 reserves of 4 First Nations in or beside Area L. 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 Thompson-Nicola Regional District's building inspection covers all of Area L (Building Regulations Bylaw No. 2066, 2005): building, adding on, moving or demolishing a building needs a building permit, and the work is inspected. Our reading of the Thompson-Nicola Regional District's own page, checked 2026-10-07. Do you need a building permit on rural land?

The Province maps one designated community watershed, Newsome Community Watershed, over less than 1% of Area L: 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).

The Province's monitoring records hold groundwater samples from 4 wells in Area L, 2005 to 2025, among them 4 of the Province's observation wells. The median passed Health Canada's limit for manganese (2 wells). 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

19 mapped aquifers lie in Area L, most wells first.

1. 1Aquifer 289: Westwoldunconfined sand and gravel (late glacial outwash)204 wells · moderate productivity
2. 2Aquifer 98: Salmon River - Lower Aquiferconfined sand and gravel (glacial)147 wells · moderate productivity
3. 3Aquifer 236: Chaseunconfined sand and gravel (medium stream system)39 wells · moderate productivity
4. 4Aquifer 273: Rose Hill / Barnhartvale / Shumway Lakefractured sedimentary rock35 wells · low productivity
5. 5Aquifer 286: Lower South Thompson Riverunconfined sand and gravel (medium stream system)31 wells · high productivity
6. 6Aquifer 230: Squilax / Tappenunconfined sand and gravel (alluvial or colluvial fan)26 wells · moderate productivity
7. 7Aquifer 251: Pritchardconfined sand and gravel (glacial)24 wells · moderate productivity
8. 8Aquifer 285: Campbell Creekconfined sand and gravel (glacial)20 wells · moderate productivity
9. 9Aquifer 249: Duck Range / Pritchard / Monte Lakefractured crystalline bedrock17 wells · low productivity
10. 10Aquifer 252: Monte Creekconfined sand and gravel (glacial)17 wells · moderate productivity

And 9 more

11. 11Aquifer 253: Monte Lakeconfined sand and gravel (glacial)13 wells · moderate productivity
12. 12Aquifer 274: Brigade Lakefractured crystalline bedrock12 wells · low productivity
13. 13Aquifer 1175: Stump Lake Bedrockfractured crystalline bedrock12 wells · low productivity
14. 14Aquifer 1174: Stump Lakeconfined sand and gravel (glacial)12 wells · moderate productivity
15. 15Aquifer 279: Buse Lakeconfined sand and gravel (glacial)8 wells · moderate productivity
16. 16Aquifer 277: Davidson Creekunconfined sand and gravel (late glacial outwash)8 wells · moderate productivity
17. 17Aquifer 276: Sugarloaf Hill southwest of Kamloopsfractured crystalline bedrock7 wells · low productivity
18. 18Aquifer 278: Peterson Creekunconfined sand and gravel (late glacial outwash)6 wells · moderate productivity
19. 19Aquifer 275: Knutsfordfractured crystalline bedrock3 wells · low 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 L. 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

16 sampled lakes lie in Area L (one only partly), largest first.

1. 1Little Shuswap Lake18 km² · 42% of it hereclarity 7.1 m (2012–2014)
2. 2Monte Lake2 km²too few readings to judge
3. 3Roche Lake2 km²eutrophic (inferred)
4. 4Campbell Lake (South Thompson River watershed)1 km²too few readings to judge
5. 5Palmer Meadows Lake1 km²too few readings to judge
6. 6Scuitto Lake92.2 hatoo few readings to judge
7. 7Shumway Lake89.9 hatoo few readings to judge
8. 8Bleeker Lake50.1 hatoo few readings to judge
9. 9Frisken Lake32.6 hatoo few readings to judge
10. 10John Frank Lake27.8 hatoo few readings to judge

And 6 more

11. 11Unnamed lake in the South Thompson River watershed (sampled as “Black Lake”)19.4 hatoo few readings to judge
12. 12McGlashan Lake19.2 hatoo few readings to judge
13. 13Unnamed lake in the South Thompson River watershed (sampled as “Tulip* Lake”)10.1 hatoo few readings to judge
14. 14Unnamed lake in the South Thompson River watershed (sampled as “Tom Campbell Lake”)5.7 hatoo few readings to judge
15. 15Bog Lake5.2 hatoo few readings to judge
16. 16Unnamed lake in the South Thompson River watershed (sampled as “Rose Lake”)3.6 hatoo 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 1981-2010 at the Westwold station, about 25 km from Pritchard (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 or days with snow on the ground, 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 5b (36%); 25% are in 5a, 16% are in 6a, 14% are in 4b, 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 1,000 kWh a year for each kW of panels at Pritchard, about 33 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 Pritchard, climate models project about 19 more days over 30 °C a year, a longest frost-free run about 40 days longer and about 12 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 36 days over 30 °C a year in 2041-2070 (range 30 to 58 across the models), against about 17 days in 1971-2000; a longest frost-free run of about 185 days (range 160 to 205), against about 145; and about 68% of winter's precipitation falling as snow (range 58% to 72%), against about 80%. 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 Pritchard: 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 Pritchard, a cloud-to-ground flash within 10 km on about 9 days a year and 0.19 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); 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 69 km of active oil and gas pipeline in Area L, permitted to FortisBC Energy Inc. Under a kilometre is abandoned or deactivated, often still in the ground. 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 14 active waste discharge authorizations in Area L; the commonest kinds: sewage treatment or discharge site (4), landfill, transfer station or other solid waste site (2) and slaughterhouse (2). Of these, 2 may discharge to air, 7 effluent to water or land and 1 refuse to 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 L: Campbell Creek Rock Quarry; and 2 other open mine permits: 1 mineral exploration permit area and 1 mineral exploration or mine 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 L is 27% private, 32% Crown land with a parcel drawn (31% with no title); no parcel is mapped over 41%, 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 46 active Crown range tenures (45 grazing, 1 hay cutting) reaching into Area L, over 62% of its area, licensed for about 66,202 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 10 registered traplines over nearly all of the area and one guide outfitter territory over 77% in Area L. 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 L lies in wildlife management units 3-20 (47%), 3-26 (41%), 3-12 (6%), 3-19 (5%): the Hunting and Trapping Regulations Synopsis sets seasons and closed areas by unit. Hunting and shooting on your own property.

BC Parks maps 5 parks and protected areas (Buse Lake Protected Area; Monte Creek Park, a provincial park; Monte Lake Park, a provincial park; Pillar Park, a provincial park; and 1 more) reaching into Area L, over 1% of its land. Recreation Sites and Trails BC lists 13 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).

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).