Photo: Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center · Public domain29% of homes tested in Electoral Area E (West Boundary), Kootenay Boundary’s area are above the radon guideline
Wildfire is a moderate presence around Electoral Area E (West Boundary), Kootenay Boundary: 3.4% of the land within 25 km has burned since 1986, 0.09% a year, short of the band that counts against Risk. Earthquakes matter little: NRCan’s model puts building losses at $0.013 a year per $1,000 of value, against $0.030 for the typical town. Hazard risk gives Electoral Area E (West Boundary), Kootenay Boundary a grade of C+; its wildfire band pulls it down.
What stands out about Electoral Area E (West Boundary), Kootenay Boundary’s hazards
For Electoral Area E (West Boundary), Kootenay Boundary, from NRCan’s seismic model, Health Canada’s radon survey, the national burned-area record and the flood map inventory.
What Electoral Area E (West Boundary), Kootenay Boundary 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 E (West Boundary), Kootenay Boundary: C+
Earthquake risk and radon make Electoral Area E (West Boundary), Kootenay Boundary’s grade; wildfire can only lower it, never raise it, and flood studies are listed but not scored.
Its place: #216 of 254 in British Columbia and #2,049 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.
A moderate wildfire record for Electoral Area E (West Boundary), Kootenay Boundary: 3.4% within 25 km burned, 0.3% within 5 km
Past fire around Electoral Area E (West Boundary), Kootenay Boundary’s homes, from the national burned-area record, with the fuel within 5 km.
Moderate: the land around Electoral Area E (West Boundary), Kootenay Boundary burns at 0.09% a year, where the typical Canadian town sees 0.000%.
Within 5 km of Electoral Area E (West Boundary), Kootenay Boundary, 66% of the land is forest fuel; widen the ring to 25 km and it is 71%.
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
In the top quarter in British Columbia: Electoral Area E (West Boundary), Kootenay Boundary ranks 56th of 255 at 0.09% a year, with Oliver first at 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.
Electoral Area E (West Boundary), Kootenay Boundary is in the moderate band, which holds 5.4% of Canada’s 2,610 towns; 2.1% 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 E (West Boundary), Kootenay Boundary, the newest from Regional District of Kootenay Boundary
What Canada’s Flood Map Inventory lists for Electoral Area E (West Boundary), Kootenay Boundary: who studied flooding and where to see their maps.
3 studies on the inventory touch Electoral Area E (West Boundary), Kootenay Boundary, the newest Regional District of Kootenay Boundary’s from 2023, and their areas can be large, so they say maps exist, not that the town floods.
| Study | By | Year | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Floodplain Mapping for Boundary Region, Kettle River from Rock Creek to Midway | Regional District of Kootenay Boundary | 2023 | final · not public |
| Floodplain Mapping for Boundary Region, West Kettle River, Carmi to Beaverdell | Regional District of Kootenay Boundary | 2023 | final · not public |
| Kettle River: Midway-Rock Creek-Westbridge Floodplain Mapping (including West Kettle River and Boundary Creek) | Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy | 1997 | final |
Towns with a flood study on file
Flood maps are common in British Columbia: 76% of towns have one, against 58% nationally, and Electoral Area E (West Boundary), Kootenay Boundary is among them.
NRCan Canada Flood Map Inventory: a study footprint touching the town’s boundary; towns of 2,500 people or more.
The 2020s brought the most flood studies for Electoral Area E (West Boundary), Kootenay Boundary (2 of 3), the first dating from the 1990s.
Study dates as the NRCan inventory lists them, one count per study touching Electoral Area E (West Boundary), Kootenay Boundary.
Listed, not scored: a flood study proves a map exists, not that Electoral Area E (West Boundary), Kootenay Boundary floods.
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.
Little shaking expected in Electoral Area E (West Boundary), Kootenay Boundary: $0.013 a year per $1,000
Expected yearly building losses from earthquakes, from Natural Resources Canada’s model.
Shaking costs the typical town $0.030 a year; in Electoral Area E (West Boundary), Kootenay Boundary it is only $0.013, 0.4 times as much.
Shaking damage a year per $1,000 of building value
Electoral Area E (West Boundary), Kootenay Boundary’s $0.013 sits under the median in British Columbia, $0.36, and well under Duncan’s $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.
Electoral Area E (West Boundary), Kootenay Boundary is in the lower part of Canada’s range for earthquake risk; 75% of the 2,611 towns are higher.
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).
For Electoral Area E (West Boundary), Kootenay Boundary the model prices shaking damage to buildings, nothing more.
Natural Resources Canada, Canada’s Seismic Risk Model (2022), by census subdivision (2016 boundaries; a few 2021 subdivisions take their residents’ mean).
Test for radon in Electoral Area E (West Boundary), Kootenay Boundary: 29% of area homes were over the guideline
Long-term radon tests in homes across the survey area, against Health Canada’s guideline.
Electoral Area E (West Boundary), Kootenay Boundary’s survey area reads 29% over the guideline, well past the typical Canadian town’s 6.6%.
Tested homes over 200 Bq/m³
Over 600 Bq/m³
Radon runs higher around Electoral Area E (West Boundary), Kootenay Boundary than in most towns in British Columbia: 29% over the guideline (1.8% is typical), 7.3% over 600.
Health Canada radon survey (2009–2011), by 2007 health region; medians of towns of 2,500 people or more.
Few of Canada’s 2,611 towns (3.1%) share the 20–30% band with Electoral Area E (West Boundary), Kootenay Boundary, and 1.5% sit above it.
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 E (West Boundary), Kootenay Boundary 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). · Data for radon tests covers the Kootenay/Boundary health region
Where to get warnings in Electoral Area E (West Boundary), Kootenay Boundary
Alerts for Electoral Area E (West Boundary), Kootenay Boundary 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. |
Fire danger and active fires near Electoral Area E (West Boundary), Kootenay Boundary are mapped daily by the Canadian Wildland Fire Information System; evacuation orders come from the municipality or province.
Weather alerts (ECCC) · Alert Ready · Fire danger and active fires (CWFIS)
Get ready for what Electoral Area E (West Boundary), Kootenay Boundary faces
Practical steps for Electoral Area E (West Boundary), Kootenay Boundary’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
- 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 E (West Boundary), Kootenay Boundary.
- Radon is a survey. Health Canada’s survey tested some 14,000 homes over three months; until postal-area boundaries are loaded, Electoral Area E (West Boundary), Kootenay Boundary takes its 2007 health region’s share.
- Earthquakes are modelled. The earthquake figure is an expected loss, not a forecast, worked out by NRCan for each census subdivision, Electoral Area E (West Boundary), Kootenay Boundary’s included.
- Flood studies aren’t flood zones. The flood inventory points to maps; it is incomplete and not the official source, so ask the municipality about any street in Electoral Area E (West Boundary), Kootenay Boundary.
Questions about flooding and hazards in Electoral Area E (West Boundary), Kootenay Boundary
Is radon a problem in Electoral Area E (West Boundary), Kootenay Boundary?
The area’s survey found 29% of 109 tested homes above Health Canada’s guideline, so a three-month test is worth doing in Electoral Area E (West Boundary), Kootenay Boundary.
How big is the earthquake risk in Electoral Area E (West Boundary), Kootenay Boundary?
NRCan’s model expects shaking to cost buildings in Electoral Area E (West Boundary), Kootenay Boundary $0.013 a year for every $1,000 of their value, on average over many years.
Does Electoral Area E (West Boundary), Kootenay Boundary flood?
The inventory lists a study touching Electoral Area E (West Boundary), Kootenay Boundary; whether a given street floods is on that map, not in the grade.
How is Electoral Area E (West Boundary), Kootenay Boundary’s Hazard risk Grade worked out?
Hazard risk gives Electoral Area E (West Boundary), Kootenay Boundary C+, weighing earthquakes and radon and counting wildfire only against it.
Is Electoral Area E (West Boundary), Kootenay Boundary at risk of wildfire?
Some, but Electoral Area E (West Boundary), Kootenay Boundary’s moderate band (3.4% of nearby land burned since 1986, latest 2025) is short of the level that counts.
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).