A flood study covers Electoral Area A, Cariboo: 3 on the national inventory, the newest from Fraser Basin Council
Burn scars are few around Electoral Area A, Cariboo, with 1.6% of the land within 25 km touched by fire since 1986 (0.04% a year). Seismic risk runs low: $0.010 of expected damage per $1,000 of buildings a year, the typical town $0.030. More homes than usual carry radon here, 12% over the guideline where the typical town has 6.6%. Hazard risk gives Electoral Area A, Cariboo a grade of B+; its wildfire band pulls it down.
What stands out about Electoral Area A, Cariboo’s hazards
For Electoral Area A, Cariboo, from NRCan’s seismic model, Health Canada’s radon survey, the national burned-area record and the flood map inventory.
What Electoral Area A, Cariboo faces
Each hazard against its own yardstick; meters run from low to high on that yardstick.
Wildfire
Earthquakes
Radon
Flood study
Hazard risk in Electoral Area A, Cariboo: B+
The grade weighs Electoral Area A, Cariboo’s seismic risk and radon equally, and wildfire is one-sided: a high band counts against a town, a low one earns nothing.
Its place: #20 of 254 in British Columbia and #1,377 of 2,589 Canadian towns.
How sure: Earthquake losses are a model’s expectation over many years, not a forecast for any one. The burned-area record misses fires under about 10 ha and most grass and farm fires.
Wildfire is rare near Electoral Area A, Cariboo: 1.6% of the land within 25 km burned since 1986, 0.2% within 5 km
Fires mapped since 1986 around where Electoral Area A, Cariboo’s residents live, and the fuel next to their homes.
In a typical year 0.04% of the land near Electoral Area A, Cariboo burns; the typical Canadian town sees 0.000%, and both are low.
The nearer ring around Electoral Area A, Cariboo is less wooded (44% forest fuel) than the land out to 25 km (73%).
Shares of land within 5 and 25 km of populated blocks: burned at least once in 1986–2025 (CWFIS burned-area composite), forest fuel and grass (fire behaviour fuel types, 2026, 250 m grid).
Burn rate a year, towns in British Columbia · highest of 255
Electoral Area A, Cariboo sits mid-table in British Columbia: 76th of 255 towns, at 0.04% a year, well behind Oliver (0.98%).
Each bar: the yearly average share of land within 25 km of a town’s homes that burned, 1986–2025 (CWFIS); the seven highest towns of 2,500 people or more.
Some fire is mapped around Electoral Area A, Cariboo, but not enough to leave the low band, where 92% of Canada’s 2,610 towns are; 7.5% rank higher.
Bands of the yearly burn rate: low under 0.05%, moderate under 0.25%, high under 1%, very high 1% or more; towns of 2,500 people or more.
Fire danger and active fires (CWFIS)
Canadian Wildland Fire Information System: National Burned Area Composite 1986–2025 and fire behaviour fuel types (2026), Natural Resources Canada. Measured within 25 km and 5 km of each populated dissemination area; past fire, not a forecast.
3 flood studies cover Electoral Area A, Cariboo, the newest from Fraser Basin Council
Flood studies whose area touches Electoral Area A, Cariboo, from NRCan’s inventory, each linked to its owner.
Fraser Basin Council and others have studied flooding in areas that include Electoral Area A, Cariboo: 3 studies, the latest from 2021.
| Study | By | Year | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cariboo Regional District Flood Hazard Assessment | Fraser Basin Council | 2021 | final |
| City of Quesnel Flood Hazard and Floodplain Mapping | City of Quesnel | 2020 | final |
| Fraser and Quesnel Rivers at Quesnel Floodplain Mapping (including Baker Creek) | Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy | 1992 | final |
Towns with a flood study on file
76% of towns in British Columbia have a flood study, more than Canada’s 58%; Electoral Area A, Cariboo has one too.
NRCan Canada Flood Map Inventory: a study footprint touching the town’s boundary; towns of 2,500 people or more.
The studies touching Electoral Area A, Cariboo lean recent: 2 of 3 date from the 2020s, the first from the 1990s.
Study dates as the NRCan inventory lists them, one count per study touching Electoral Area A, Cariboo.
Nothing here counts toward Risk; the studies are pointers to the maps their owners keep for Electoral Area A, Cariboo.
The inventory’s own caution (NRCan): “The Canada Flood Map (CFM) does not include every flood hazard map in Canada and may be incomplete or contain inaccuracies. It should not be relied upon as the official source of flood mapping information. Furthermore, if a map appears to be missing, this does not necessarily mean that the area has never been mapped. For the official version of a map, updated information, or confirmation of applicable regulations, please contact the local authority responsible for flood mapping.”
Natural Resources Canada, Canada Flood Map Inventory; links go to each study’s owner.
Low seismic risk in Electoral Area A, Cariboo: $0.010 per $1,000 of buildings a year
NRCan’s seismic risk model: the damage shaking is expected to do to buildings each year, on average over many years.
0.3 times the typical $0.030: Electoral Area A, Cariboo’s $0.010 is low for Canada.
Shaking damage a year per $1,000 of building value
Below the middle in British Columbia: Electoral Area A, Cariboo’s $0.010 against a median of $0.36; Duncan has $1.33.
NRCan seismic risk model (2022): mean yearly building loss per $1,000 of value; medians of towns of 2,500 people or more.
Earthquakes cost less around Electoral Area A, Cariboo than in 86% of Canada’s 2,611 towns.
Each column: the share of Canada’s towns of 2,500 people or more in that range of yearly loss per $1,000 (NRCan, 2022).
Only shaking damage to buildings in Electoral Area A, Cariboo is counted; landslides, liquefaction, tsunami and fire after a quake aren’t.
Natural Resources Canada, Canada’s Seismic Risk Model (2022), by census subdivision (2016 boundaries; a few 2021 subdivisions take their residents’ mean).
12% of homes tested around Electoral Area A, Cariboo are over the radon guideline
Health Canada’s survey of long-term home tests: the share above the 200 Bq/m³ guideline. · Source area for radon tests: the Northern Interior health region
A higher share than most: 12% of tested homes around Electoral Area A, Cariboo, the typical Canadian town 6.6%.
Tested homes over 200 Bq/m³
Over 600 Bq/m³
Around Electoral Area A, Cariboo, 12% of tests were over 200 Bq/m³ and 1.9% over 600, against a median of 1.8% in British Columbia.
Health Canada radon survey (2009–2011), by 2007 health region; medians of towns of 2,500 people or more.
More high tests than most: Electoral Area A, Cariboo sits in a band that only 22% of Canada’s 2,611 towns share, with 4.6% above.
Each bar: the share of Canada’s towns of 2,500 people or more whose survey area had that share of tests over 200 Bq/m³.
Neighbouring homes in Electoral Area A, Cariboo can differ a lot; only a long-term test tells you about yours.
Health Canada, Cross-Canada Survey of Radon Concentrations in Homes (2009–2011).
Where to get warnings in Electoral Area A, Cariboo
Environment and Climate Change Canada issues the weather alerts for Electoral Area A, Cariboo; Alert Ready carries the urgent ones to phones, radio and TV.
| Alert | What it means |
|---|---|
| Warning | Severe weather is happening or about to: act now. |
| Watch | Conditions favour severe weather: be ready. |
| Advisory | Weather that is less severe but could disrupt the day. |
| Special weather statement | Unusual weather worth knowing about. |
| Special air quality statement | Poor air, often wildfire smoke. |
For fires near Electoral Area A, Cariboo, the national fire information system maps danger and active fires daily; local authorities give any evacuation order.
Weather alerts (ECCC) · Alert Ready · Fire danger and active fires (CWFIS)
How Electoral Area A, Cariboo’s neighbours compare on hazards
The same four hazards for the places next door.
| Town | Wildfire | Quake $/1,000 | Radon | Flood study |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electoral Area A, Cariboo | Low | $0.010 | 12% | Yes |
| Quesnel 10,253 · 5.5 km | Low | $0.010 | 12% | Yes |
| Electoral Area I, Cariboo 1,707 · 7.8 km | Moderate | $0.012 | 12% | Yes |
| Electoral Area C, Cariboo 1,289 · 13 km | Low | $0.008 | 12% | Yes |
| Electoral Area B, Cariboo 4,169 · 17 km | Low | $0.010 | 12% | Yes |
The heaviest fire record nearby is Electoral Area I, Cariboo’s, moderate to Electoral Area A, Cariboo’s low.
Radon is the survey area’s figure, so neighbours in one area share it.
Get ready for what Electoral Area A, Cariboo faces
What to do about the hazards Electoral Area A, Cariboo faces, and what to ask before you buy.
- Test for three months in winter.
- Over 200 Bq/m³: fix it.
- Kits are cheap; pros test too.
- Never drive through floodwater.
- Move papers and medicines upstairs.
- Ask whether your street is mapped.
- Clear needles and wood nearby.
- Keep a grab-and-go bag ready.
- In smoke, stay in; filter air.
- Has it had a radon test?
- Check the address on the flood map.
- Are flood and wildfire insured?
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Flood studies aren’t flood zones. NRCan’s inventory says where flood mapping exists, not where water goes; the map’s owner is the authority for Electoral Area A, Cariboo.
- Earthquakes are modelled. The earthquake figure is an expected loss, not a forecast, worked out by NRCan for each census subdivision, Electoral Area A, Cariboo’s included.
- Wildfire counts one way. Burned land within 25 km of where people live, averaged over 1986–2025 and checked for fuel near homes, is the measure; it looks back, not ahead, and only ever counts against Electoral Area A, Cariboo.
- Radon is a survey. About 14,000 homes were tested across Canada in 2009–2011, and the share over the guideline for Electoral Area A, Cariboo is its health region’s, the survey’s design unit.
Questions about flooding and hazards in Electoral Area A, Cariboo
How big is the earthquake risk in Electoral Area A, Cariboo?
About $0.010 a year per $1,000 of building value, NRCan’s long-run expectation for Electoral Area A, Cariboo.
Does Electoral Area A, Cariboo flood?
There is flood mapping for Electoral Area A, Cariboo on the national inventory, each study linked to its owner’s map, none of them graded.
Is Electoral Area A, Cariboo at risk of wildfire?
Fire has reached 1.6% of the land around Electoral Area A, Cariboo since 1986 (last in 2024); at low, it neither helps nor hurts the grade.
Is radon a problem in Electoral Area A, Cariboo?
Around Electoral Area A, Cariboo, 208 survey homes were tested and 12% came in over 200 Bq/m³, a guide to the area, not to any one home.
How is Electoral Area A, Cariboo’s Hazard risk Grade worked out?
Electoral Area A, Cariboo grades B+ for hazard risk, from earthquakes and radon, with wildfire counted only where it lowers the grade.
Seismic risk: Natural Resources Canada. Radon: Health Canada. Wildfire: Canadian Wildland Fire Information System. Flood studies: Natural Resources Canada, Canada Flood Map Inventory. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada.
Sources: NRCan, Canada’s Seismic Risk Model 2022 · Health Canada, Cross-Canada Survey of Radon Concentrations in Homes · CWFIS, National Burned Area Composite and FBP fuel types · NRCan, Canada Flood Map Inventory. Under the Statistics Canada Open Licence.
Adapted from Statistics Canada (Census of Population 2021, population estimates 2025, 2021 census boundaries) under the Statistics Canada Open Licence; this does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada. Neighbourhood names in some cities © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).