Photo: Joli Rumi · CC BY-SA 4.0A flood study covers Athabasca County: 2 on the national inventory, the newest from Government of Alberta
Some 2.5% of the land within 25 km of Athabasca County has burned since 1986; at 0.07% a year that is moderate, not high. Earthquakes matter little: NRCan’s model puts building losses at $0.005 a year per $1,000 of value, against $0.030 for the typical town. Radon is about average around Athabasca County: 9.6% of tested homes in the survey area topped the guideline, against 6.6% for the typical town. Hazard risk gives Athabasca County a grade of A−; its wildfire band pulls it down.
What stands out about Athabasca County’s hazards
For Athabasca County, from NRCan’s seismic model, Health Canada’s radon survey, the national burned-area record and the flood map inventory.
What Athabasca County faces
Each hazard against its own yardstick; meters run from low to high on that yardstick.
Wildfire
Earthquakes
Radon
Flood study
Hazard risk in Athabasca County: A−
Two inputs always count for Athabasca County, earthquakes and radon; the third, wildfire, counts only against a town.
Its place: #232 of 474 in Alberta and #588 of 2,589 Canadian towns.
How sure: The seismic figure is a long-run average from NRCan’s model, not a prediction. The burned-area record misses fires under about 10 ha and most grass and farm fires.
A moderate wildfire record for Athabasca County: 2.5% within 25 km burned, 2.9% within 5 km
Past fire around Athabasca County’s homes, from the national burned-area record, with the fuel within 5 km.
Moderate: the land around Athabasca County burns at 0.07% a year, where the typical Canadian town sees 0.000%.
The nearer ring around Athabasca County is less wooded (21% forest fuel) than the land out to 25 km (31%).
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 Alberta · highest of 478
Wainwright burns fastest in Alberta at 1.43% a year; Athabasca County, at 0.07%, ranks 34th of 478.
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.
Moderate puts Athabasca County above most of Canada’s 2,610 towns, yet 2.1% rank high or very high and 5.4% share its band.
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 Athabasca County is mapped in 2 studies, the newest by Government of Alberta
What Canada’s Flood Map Inventory lists for Athabasca County: who studied flooding and where to see their maps.
2 studies on the inventory touch Athabasca County, the newest Government of Alberta’s from 2024, and their areas can be large, so they say maps exist, not that the town floods.
| Study | By | Year | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Athabasca Flood Study | Government of Alberta | 2024 | final |
| Rochester Flood Study | Government of Alberta | 2024 | final |
Towns with a flood study on file
Mapping in Alberta reaches 46% of towns, Athabasca County among them, below the 58% across Canada.
NRCan Canada Flood Map Inventory: a study footprint touching the town’s boundary; towns of 2,500 people or more.
Listed, not scored: a flood study proves a map exists, not that Athabasca County 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.
Earthquakes cost buildings in Athabasca County just $0.005 per $1,000 a year
Expected yearly building losses from earthquakes, from Natural Resources Canada’s model.
Athabasca County’s $0.005 is a fraction of the typical town’s $0.030 (0.2 times as much): quiet ground by Canadian standards.
Shaking damage a year per $1,000 of building value
Below the middle in Alberta: Athabasca County’s $0.005 against a median of $0.013; Black Diamond has $0.048.
NRCan seismic risk model (2022): mean yearly building loss per $1,000 of value; medians of towns of 2,500 people or more.
Nearly every one of Canada’s 2,611 towns (96%) expects more shaking damage than Athabasca County.
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).
What a quake does after the shaking, fire, landslides, tsunami, falls outside NRCan’s figure for Athabasca County.
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 Athabasca County: 9.6% over the guideline
Long-term radon tests in homes across the survey area, against Health Canada’s guideline.
At 9.6% over the guideline, the area around Athabasca County is about level with the typical Canadian town’s 6.6%.
Tested homes over 200 Bq/m³
Over 600 Bq/m³
Radon runs higher around Athabasca County than in most towns in Alberta: 9.6% over the guideline (7.5% is typical), 0.5% over 600.
Health Canada radon survey (2009–2011), by 2007 health region; medians of towns of 2,500 people or more.
26% of Canada’s 2,611 towns have more homes over 200 Bq/m³ than Athabasca County’s 5–10% band, which holds 37%.
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 Athabasca County 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). · Area behind the radon tests figures: the Aspen Regional Health Authority
Where to get warnings in Athabasca County
Alerts for Athabasca County 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 Athabasca County 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)
Hazards in the places around Athabasca County
Wildfire band, earthquake risk, radon and flood studies for each place nearby.
| Town | Wildfire | Quake $/1,000 | Radon | Flood study |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Athabasca County | Moderate | $0.005 | 9.6% | Yes |
| Athabasca 2,887 · 14 km | Moderate | $0.003 | 9.6% | Yes |
Athabasca County’s moderate band tops its neighbours; Athabasca is next (moderate).
Radon is the survey area’s figure, so neighbours in one area share it.
Get ready for what Athabasca County faces
What to do about the hazards Athabasca County faces, and what to ask before you buy.
- 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 Athabasca County.
- 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 Athabasca County floods.
- Earthquakes are modelled. The earthquake figure is an expected loss, not a forecast, worked out by NRCan for each census subdivision, Athabasca County’s included.
- 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 Athabasca County sits in.
Questions about flooding and hazards in Athabasca County
Is radon a problem in Athabasca County?
In Health Canada’s survey, 9.6% of 219 homes tested in Athabasca County’s area were above 200 Bq/m³, though only a test tells you about one house.
How big is the earthquake risk in Athabasca County?
In NRCan’s seismic model, Athabasca County’s buildings lose $0.005 per $1,000 of value in an average year.
How is Athabasca County’s Hazard risk Grade worked out?
Athabasca County grades A− for hazard risk, from earthquakes and radon, with wildfire counted only where it lowers the grade.
Does Athabasca County flood?
Athabasca County’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 Athabasca County at risk of wildfire?
Less than most of Canada: 2.5% of the land within 25 km of Athabasca County has burned since 1986, the last in 2025, a moderate band that leaves Risk alone.
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).