Electoral Area D, Cariboo faces more hazards than 95% of Canadian towns
Wildfire is a real hazard for Electoral Area D, Cariboo: 11% of the land within 25 km has burned since 1986, 0.28% a year, in the high band. Shaking is less of a worry than in most places, at $0.011 a year per $1,000 of building value ($0.030 typical). In Health Canada’s survey, 6.4% of homes tested in Electoral Area D, Cariboo’s area exceeded 200 Bq/m³, close to the typical 6.6%. Electoral Area D, Cariboo grades D− for hazard risk, with wildfire counted against it.
What stands out about Electoral Area D, Cariboo’s hazards
Four national sources, each read for Electoral Area D, Cariboo: earthquakes, radon, past fires and flood studies.
What Electoral Area D, 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 D, Cariboo: D−
Earthquake risk and radon make Electoral Area D, Cariboo’s grade; wildfire can only lower it, never raise it, and flood studies are listed but not scored.
Its place: #229 of 254 in British Columbia and #2,542 of 2,589 Canadian towns.
How sure: The seismic figure is a long-run average from NRCan’s model, not a prediction. Small fires and grass fires are largely missing from the national burned-area record.
A high wildfire band for Electoral Area D, Cariboo: 14% within 5 km, 11% within 25 km
Fires mapped since 1986 around where Electoral Area D, Cariboo’s residents live, and the fuel next to their homes.
High: the land around Electoral Area D, Cariboo burns at 0.28% a year, where the typical Canadian town sees 0.000%.
Forest fuel covers 62% of the land close to Electoral Area D, Cariboo and 69% across 25 km.
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 D, Cariboo ranks 26th of the 255 towns in British Columbia for burn rate, at 0.28% a year; Oliver leads with 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.
High is rare: 1.9% of Canada’s 2,610 towns, Electoral Area D, Cariboo among them, with 0.2% higher still.
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.
Flooding around Electoral Area D, Cariboo is mapped in 2 studies, the newest by Fraser Basin Council
Flood studies whose area touches Electoral Area D, Cariboo, from NRCan’s inventory, each linked to its owner.
2 studies on the inventory touch Electoral Area D, Cariboo, the newest Fraser Basin Council’s from 2021, and their areas can be large, so they say maps exist, not that the town floods.
| Study | By | Year | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cariboo Regional District Flood Hazard Assessment | Fraser Basin Council | 2021 | final |
| Williams Lake Floodplain Mapping | Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy | 1990 | final |
Towns with a flood study on file
Its flood study puts Electoral Area D, Cariboo with 76% of towns in British Columbia; Canada’s share is 58%.
NRCan Canada Flood Map Inventory: a study footprint touching the town’s boundary; towns of 2,500 people or more.
The 2 studies touching Electoral Area D, Cariboo are spread over time, from the 1990s to the 2020s.
Study dates as the NRCan inventory lists them, one count per study touching Electoral Area D, Cariboo.
Flood mapping is shown for Electoral Area D, Cariboo to be opened and checked, never turned into a grade.
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.
Earthquakes cost buildings in Electoral Area D, Cariboo just $0.011 per $1,000 a year
NRCan’s seismic risk model: the damage shaking is expected to do to buildings each year, on average over many years.
At $0.011 per $1,000, Electoral Area D, Cariboo carries 0.4 times the typical Canadian town’s earthquake risk ($0.030): low.
Shaking damage a year per $1,000 of building value
At $0.011, Electoral Area D, Cariboo is below the typical town in British Columbia ($0.36); Duncan is highest at $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.
85% of Canada’s 2,611 towns expect more shaking damage than Electoral Area D, Cariboo.
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).
The model counts damage to Electoral Area D, Cariboo’s buildings and their occupants from shaking only: not liquefaction, landslides, tsunami or fires after a quake.
Natural Resources Canada, Canada’s Seismic Risk Model (2022), by census subdivision (2016 boundaries; a few 2021 subdivisions take their residents’ mean).
Radon about average around Electoral Area D, Cariboo: 6.4% over the guideline
Health Canada’s survey of long-term home tests: the share above the 200 Bq/m³ guideline.
Electoral Area D, Cariboo’s area sits close to the typical Canadian town: 6.4% over the guideline, against 6.6%.
Tested homes over 200 Bq/m³
Over 600 Bq/m³
The median in British Columbia is 1.8% over 200 Bq/m³; the survey area around Electoral Area D, Cariboo has 6.4%.
Health Canada radon survey (2009–2011), by 2007 health region; medians of towns of 2,500 people or more.
Between 5% and 10% of tests over the guideline: Electoral Area D, Cariboo, and 37% of Canada’s 2,611 towns; 26% are higher.
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.
The share describes the area, not a house: in Electoral Area D, Cariboo as anywhere, test to be sure.
Health Canada, Cross-Canada Survey of Radon Concentrations in Homes (2009–2011). · Data for radon tests covers the Thompson/Cariboo health region
Weather and fire alerts for Electoral Area D, Cariboo
Alerts for Electoral Area D, Cariboo come from Environment and Climate Change Canada and, for emergencies, Alert Ready.
| 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. |
Evacuation orders for Electoral Area D, Cariboo come from the municipality or the province, while CWFIS maps fire danger every day.
Weather alerts (ECCC) · Alert Ready · Fire danger and active fires (CWFIS)
How Electoral Area D, 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 D, Cariboo | High | $0.011 | 6.4% | Yes |
| Williams Lake 11,462 · 6.4 km | High | $0.011 | 6.4% | Yes |
| Electoral Area E, Cariboo 4,242 · 13 km | High | $0.016 | 6.4% | Yes |
Williams Lake burns a little more than Electoral Area D, Cariboo, in the same high band (high here).
Radon is the survey area’s figure, so neighbours in one area share it.
Get ready for what Electoral Area D, Cariboo faces
Practical steps for Electoral Area D, Cariboo’s hazards, most pressing first.
- Clear needles and wood nearby.
- Keep a grab-and-go bag ready.
- In smoke, stay in; filter air.
- 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.
- Has it had a radon test?
- Check the address on the flood map.
- How close is the forest edge?
- Are flood and wildfire insured?
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Flood studies aren’t flood zones. A study’s area can be a whole watershed or province, so being on the inventory says a map exists, not that a home in Electoral Area D, Cariboo floods.
- Radon is a survey. The radon share comes from about 14,000 long-term home tests in 2009–2011, pooled for now by the 2007 health region Electoral Area D, Cariboo sits in.
- Wildfire counts one way. The wildfire figure is the share of land within 25 km of Electoral Area D, Cariboo’s homes burned each year from 1986 to 2025, past fire rather than a forecast, and it can only lower Risk.
- Earthquakes are modelled. Shaking damage is modelled from the ground, the buildings and the odds of each quake, and published for whole subdivisions such as Electoral Area D, Cariboo’s.
Questions about flooding and hazards in Electoral Area D, Cariboo
How big is the earthquake risk in Electoral Area D, Cariboo?
Expected earthquake damage in Electoral Area D, Cariboo comes to $0.011 a year for each $1,000 that buildings are worth.
How is Electoral Area D, Cariboo’s Hazard risk Grade worked out?
Electoral Area D, Cariboo’s Hazard risk grade is D−, built on earthquakes and radon with a one-sided wildfire input.
Does Electoral Area D, Cariboo flood?
Electoral Area D, Cariboo’s area has been studied for flooding, and the owner’s map shows which streets lie in a zone; the grade leaves flood out.
Is Electoral Area D, Cariboo at risk of wildfire?
It is: 11% of the land within 25 km of Electoral Area D, Cariboo has burned since 1986, the latest in 2025, which puts it in the high band that lowers Risk.
Is radon a problem in Electoral Area D, Cariboo?
6.4% of the 109 homes Health Canada tested around Electoral Area D, Cariboo topped the guideline; your own house needs its own test.
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).