Thompson-Nicola, Electoral Area O (Lower North Thompson)

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, 10 wildfires of 1,000 ha or more burned in Area O, together 72,844 ha, 13% of its land (ground that burned twice counts once). The most here was unnamed fire K20272 in 2003, 22,622 ha.

1. 2024Dunn Creek wildfire2,513 ha in all2,513 ha here
2. 2023Bush Creek East wildfire45,745 ha in all · 36% of it here16,500 ha here
3. 2023Unnamed fire K227571,772 ha in all · 98% of it here1,744 ha here
4. 2021Momich Lake wildfire17,068 ha in all · 81% of it here13,765 ha here
5. 2021Sparks Lake wildfire89,627 ha in all · 11% of it here9,913 ha here
6. 2017Unnamed fire K207062,984 ha in all · 51% of it here1,512 ha here
7. 2009Unnamed fire K113032,580 ha in all2,580 ha here
8. 2009Momich Lake wildfire1,515 ha in all1,515 ha here
9. 2003Unnamed fire K2027227,137 ha in all · 83% of it here22,622 ha here
10. 2003Unnamed fire K204364,313 ha in all · 97% of it here4,166 ha here

Smaller mapped fires since 2016

Since 2016, the BC Wildfire Service mapped 55 smaller fires (under 1,000 ha) that reached Area O, newest first. This season's are as mapped by November 9, 2026.

1. 2026Unnamed fire K21312871 ha in all871 ha here
2. 2026Unnamed fire K215051.1 ha in all1.1 ha here
3. 2025Unnamed fire K2163326 ha in all26 ha here
4. 2025Windy Creek wildfire23 ha in all · 82% of it here19 ha here
5. 2025Unnamed fire K2013818 ha in all18 ha here
6. 2024Unnamed fire K21490152 ha in all152 ha here
7. 2024Unnamed fire K2152030 ha in all30 ha here
8. 2024Unnamed fire K2145311 ha in all11 ha here

And 47 more

1. 2024Unnamed fire K2153410 ha in all10 ha here
2. 2024Unnamed fire K214855.9 ha in all5.9 ha here
3. 2024Unnamed fire K213534 ha in all4 ha here
4. 2024Unnamed fire K214413.4 ha in all3.4 ha here
5. 2024Unnamed fire K216033.1 ha in all3.1 ha here
6. 2024Unnamed fire K215242.7 ha in all2.7 ha here
7. 2024Unnamed fire K213492.5 ha in all2.5 ha here
8. 2024Unnamed fire K218651.1 ha in all1.1 ha here
9. 2023Unnamed fire K2281017 ha in all17 ha here
10. 2023Unnamed fire K2114816 ha in all16 ha here
11. 2023Unnamed fire K217933.1 ha in all3.1 ha here
12. 2023Unnamed fire K225432.6 ha in all2.6 ha here
13. 2023Unnamed fire K217951.5 ha in all1.5 ha here
14. 2023Unnamed fire K228731.3 ha in all1.3 ha here
15. 2022Barrier River wildfire386 ha in all · 60% of it here231 ha here
16. 2022Harper Creek wildfire309 ha in all309 ha here
17. 2022Darfield Pumping … wildfire6.8 ha in all6.8 ha here
18. 2022Barriere Pass wildfire2.1 ha in all2.1 ha here
19. 2022Adams Lake wildfire1.3 ha in all1.3 ha here
20. 2022Taylor Creek wildfire1.1 ha in all1.1 ha here
21. 2022Cicero Creek wildfire1.1 ha in all1.1 ha here
22. 2022Unnamed fire K208240.2 ha in all0.2 ha here
23. 2021Gollen Creek wildfire832 ha in all832 ha here
24. 2021Sunset Creek wildfire482 ha in all482 ha here
25. 2021Taweel Lake wildfire395 ha in all · 69% of it here274 ha here
26. 2021Bear Creek wildfire193 ha in all193 ha here
27. 2021Honeymoon FSR wildfire25 ha in all25 ha here
28. 2021Cannon Mountain wildfire6.6 ha in all6.6 ha here
29. 2021Copper Lake wildfire3 ha in all3 ha here
30. 2021Harbour Lake wildfire2.1 ha in all2.1 ha here
31. 2020Unnamed fire K2120840 ha in all40 ha here
32. 2019Unnamed fire C404081.1 ha in all1.1 ha here
33. 2018Unnamed fire K227932.6 ha in all2.6 ha here
34. 2018Unnamed fire K201971.9 ha in all1.9 ha here
35. 2018Unnamed fire K223761.9 ha in all1.9 ha here
36. 2018Unnamed fire K218921.8 ha in all1.8 ha here
37. 2018Unnamed fire K217750.3 ha in all0.3 ha here
38. 2017Thuya Lake Road wildfire556 ha in all556 ha here
39. 2017Unnamed fire K1114431 ha in all31 ha here
40. 2017Unnamed fire K1180117 ha in all17 ha here
41. 2017Unnamed fire K2103214 ha in all14 ha here
42. 2017Unnamed fire K1066811 ha in all11 ha here
43. 2017Unnamed fire K108285.7 ha in all5.7 ha here
44. 2017Unnamed fire K108484.8 ha in all4.8 ha here
45. 2017Unnamed fire K108254.6 ha in all4.6 ha here
46. 2017Unnamed fire K308241.4 ha in all · 11% of it here0.2 ha here
47. 2016Unnamed fire K103541.4 ha in all1.4 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 O's land is 48% NDT3 (burned in large fires about every 100 to 150 years), 20% NDT1 (rarely burned, about every 250 to 350 years and in patches), 17% NDT4 (burned often and lightly, every 4 to 50 years), 13% NDT2 (burned in large fires about every 200 years) and 2% NDT5 (alpine tundra and subalpine parkland). Its main biogeoclimatic zones are Interior Cedar–Hemlock (34%), Engelmann Spruce–Subalpine Fir (29%), Interior Douglas-fir (17%) and Montane Spruce (12%). 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 3 wildfire events with an evacuation order or alert over Area O, 1 with an order. The latest order: Thuya Lake Road Wildfire, July 2017.

1. 2023Bush Creek East WildfireAugust 2023 · evacuation alert · Thompson-Nicola Regional District68 homes
2. 2021Sparks Lake WildfireAugust 2021 · evacuation alert · Thompson-Nicola Regional District234 homes
3. 2017Thuya Lake Road WildfireJuly 2017 · evacuation order · Thompson-Nicola Regional District138 homes

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

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.

21 landslides are recorded inside Area O in the Preliminary Canadian Landslide Database (version 14.0), including 4 rock slides, 4 earth slides and 3 rock falls. The latest with a date of its own: a debris flow, 3 Jun 2024 (listed under “Wooldford Creek (Bush Creek Fire - K21633 - 2023)”). 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 15 dams in Area O, 5 of them classed High or above for the harm a failure would do downstream: Smith Lake Dam (Very High), Leonie Lake Dam (High) and Allan (Spruce) 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.

7 Water Survey of Canada gauges in Area O have 5 or more years of yearly peak flows: Harper Creek near the Mouth peaked highest at 63.3 m³/s in 1997 (48 years on record), Barriere River below Sprague Creek peaked highest at 158 m³/s in 1997 (44 years on record) and Fishtrap Creek near Mclure peaked highest at 15.3 m³/s in 1997 (39 years on record), among others. 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).

The Province's monitoring records hold groundwater samples from 1 well in Area O, 2008. The median passed Health Canada's limit for manganese (1 well). 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

9 mapped aquifers lie in Area O, most wells first.

1. 1Aquifer 293: North Thompson River; north of Barriereunconfined sand and gravel (medium stream system)30 wells · moderate productivity
2. 2Aquifer 272: North-east of Kamloopsfractured sedimentary rock21 wells · low productivity
3. 3Aquifer 294: Lower Barriere River Valleyunconfined sand and gravel (small stream system)20 wells · moderate productivity
4. 4Aquifer 292: Louis Creek and North Thompson confluenceunconfined sand and gravel (medium stream system)19 wells · moderate productivity
5. 5Aquifer 296: Little Fortunconfined sand and gravel (small stream system)15 wells · moderate productivity
6. 6Aquifer 290: Dixon and Sargent Creek Valleysunconfined sand and gravel (alluvial or colluvial fan)15 wells · moderate productivity
7. 7Aquifer 288: Louis and Fraser Creek Valleysunconfined sand and gravel (alluvial or colluvial fan)14 wells · moderate productivity
8. 8Aquifer 271: North Thompson River floodplainunconfined sand and gravel (medium stream system)8 wells · high productivity
9. 9Aquifer 291: Dixon, Sargent and Jet Creek Valleysfractured crystalline bedrock7 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 O. 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

20 sampled lakes lie in Area O (3 only partly), largest first.

1. 1Adams Lake132 km² · 96% of it hereclarity 10 m (2015–2025)
2. 2Bonaparte Lake34 km² · 51% of it heretoo few readings to judge
3. 3East Barrière Lake10 km²too few readings to judge
4. 4Lac des Roches7 km² · 34% of it heretoo few readings to judge
5. 5North Barrière Lake5 km²too few readings to judge
6. 6Caverhill Lake5 km²too few readings to judge
7. 7Dunn Lake4 km²too few readings to judge
8. 8Birch Lake2 km²too few readings to judge
9. 9Saskum Lake1 km²too few readings to judge
10. 10South Barrière Lake63.3 hatoo few readings to judge

And 10 more

11. 11Phinetta Lake28 hatoo few readings to judge
12. 12Needmore Lake25.5 hatoo few readings to judge
13. 13Whitewood Lake18.7 hatoo few readings to judge
14. 14Unnamed lake in the Lower North Thompson River watershed (sampled as “Divide Lake”)17 hatoo few readings to judge
15. 15Upper South Barrière Lake16 hatoo few readings to judge
16. 16Unnamed lake in the Lower North Thompson River watershed (sampled as “Bendelin Lake”)12.9 hatoo few readings to judge
17. 17Dunsapie Lake12.4 hatoo few readings to judge
18. 18Unnamed lake in the Bonaparte River watershed11.7 hatoo few readings to judge
19. 19Unnamed lake in the Lower North Thompson River watershed (sampled as “Jeep Lake”)7.2 hatoo few readings to judge
20. 20Black Lake (Lower North Thompson River watershed)2.9 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 Darfield station, about 27 km from East Barriere 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. * 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 (44%); 22% are in 6a, 19% are in 5a, 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 990 kWh a year for each kW of panels at East Barriere Lake, about 36 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 East Barriere Lake, climate models project about 15 more days over 30 °C a year, a longest frost-free run about 30 days longer and about 8 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 22 days over 30 °C a year in 2041-2070 (range 16 to 38 across the models), against about 7 days in 1971-2000; a longest frost-free run of about 160 days (range 145 to 175), against about 130; and about 82% of winter's precipitation falling as snow (range 70% to 84%), against about 90%. 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 East Barriere Lake: none recorded from space, and darker than about 94% 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 East Barriere 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); 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 84 km of active oil and gas pipeline in Area O, permitted to Trans Mountain Pipeline ULC. About 87 km more is on recent permits it lists as new. 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 11 active waste discharge authorizations in Area O; the commonest kinds: sewage treatment or discharge site (4), landfill, transfer station or other solid waste site (2) and composting site (1). Of these, 8 may discharge effluent to water or land and 3 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 no open gravel pit or quarry in Area O, but 4 open mine permits: 3 mineral exploration permit areas 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 O is 4% private, 5% Crown land with a parcel drawn (4% with no title); 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 Ministry of Forests maps 41 active Crown range tenures (41 grazing) reaching into Area O, over 36% of its area, licensed for about 26,983 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 29 registered traplines over nearly all of the area and 4 guide outfitter territories over 34% in Area O. 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 O lies in wildlife management units 3-37 (28%), 3-38 (24%), 3-28 (12%), 3-42 (12%), 3-39 (9%), 3-30 (6%), 3-27 (6%): the Hunting and Trapping Regulations Synopsis sets seasons and closed areas by unit. Hunting and shooting on your own property.

BC Parks maps 17 parks and protected areas (Adams Lake Marine Park - Poplar Point Site, a provincial park; Adams Lake Marine Park - Refuge Bay Site, a provincial park; Adams Lake Marine Park - Spillman Beach Site, a provincial park; Adams Lake Park - Bush Creek Site, a provincial park; and 13 more) reaching into Area O, over 6% of its land. Recreation Sites and Trails BC lists 34 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).