Few places are as safe from hazards as Homesteader: it beats 98% of Canadian towns
The national fire record shows next to nothing around Homesteader, 0% of the land within 25 km since 1986 (0.000% a year). 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. Radon is lower than usual: 1.4% of tested homes in the survey area topped the guideline, against 6.6% for the typical town. Hazard risk gives Homesteader a grade of A+; its wildfire band pulls it down.
What stands out about Homesteader’s hazards
For Homesteader, from NRCan’s seismic model, Health Canada’s radon survey, the national burned-area record and the flood map inventory.
What Homesteader faces
Each hazard against its own yardstick; meters run from low to high on that yardstick.
Wildfire
Earthquakes
Radon
Flood study
Hazard risk in Homesteader: A+
Earthquake risk and radon make Homesteader’s grade; wildfire can only lower it, never raise it, and flood studies are listed but not scored.
Its place: #11 of 474 in Alberta and #22 of 2,589 Canadian towns.
How sure: The seismic figure is a long-run average from NRCan’s model, not a prediction. Only 73 homes were tested in the survey area, so the radon share is rough. The burned-area record misses fires under about 10 ha and most grass and farm fires.
Few fires near Homesteader: 0% within 5 km, 0% within 25 km
Past fire around Homesteader’s homes, from the national burned-area record, with the fuel within 5 km.
The land within 25 km of Homesteader burns at 0.000% a year on average, the low band; the typical Canadian town: 0.000%.
Forest makes up 0.1% of the land within 5 km of Homesteader and 0.3% within 25 km, little for a forest fire to run through.
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 has the highest burn rate in Alberta, 1.43% a year; around Homesteader, as around 386 of the 478 towns, it rounds to zero.
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.
Measured against 2,610 towns, Homesteader is in the largest group, low (92%), and at its floor, while 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.
The flood map inventory lists nothing for Homesteader
What Canada’s Flood Map Inventory lists for Homesteader: who studied flooding and where to see their maps.
Canada’s Flood Map Inventory lists no study whose area touches Homesteader, which doesn’t mean it has never been mapped.
Towns with a flood study on file
No study touches Homesteader; in Alberta, 46% of towns have one, below Canada’s 58%.
NRCan Canada Flood Map Inventory: a study footprint touching the town’s boundary; towns of 2,500 people or more.
Flood studies don’t enter the grade; they are listed so you can open the official map for Homesteader.
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.”
Low seismic risk in Homesteader: $0.013 per $1,000 of buildings a year
Expected yearly building losses from earthquakes, from Natural Resources Canada’s model.
Shaking costs the typical town $0.030 a year; in Homesteader it is only $0.013, 0.4 times as much.
For earthquake risk, the only official count covers all of the city of Edmonton, Homesteader included.
Shaking damage a year per $1,000 of building value
Earthquake risk around Homesteader ($0.013) matches the middle in Alberta ($0.013), far from Black Diamond’s $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.
Earthquakes cost less around Homesteader than in 75% 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).
For Homesteader 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).
Little radon around Homesteader: 1.4% of area homes over the guideline
Long-term radon tests in homes across the survey area, against Health Canada’s guideline. · Radon tests for the Capital Health
Homesteader’s area, at 1.4%, is below the 6.6% of the typical Canadian town, though any one home can still be high.
Tested homes over 200 Bq/m³
Over 600 Bq/m³
The median in Alberta is 7.5% over 200 Bq/m³; around Homesteader it is 1.4%.
Health Canada radon survey (2009–2011), by 2007 health region; medians of towns of 2,500 people or more.
63% of Canada’s 2,611 towns have a higher share of homes over 200 Bq/m³ than Homesteader’s 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.
Whatever Homesteader’s area share, the reading that matters is your own home’s, over a winter.
Health Canada, Cross-Canada Survey of Radon Concentrations in Homes (2009–2011).
Where to get warnings in Homesteader
Alerts for Homesteader 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. |
Alert Ready carries evacuation orders for Homesteader to phones; CWFIS shows the day’s fire danger.
Weather alerts (ECCC) · Alert Ready · Fire danger and active fires (CWFIS)
Hazards in the places around Homesteader
Wildfire band, earthquake risk, radon and flood studies for each place nearby.
| Town | Wildfire | Quake $/1,000 | Radon | Flood study |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Homesteader | Low | $0.013 | 1.4% | None listed |
| Clareview Town Centre 3,800 · 1.1 km | Low | $0.013 | 1.4% | None listed |
| Belmont 5,299 · 1.3 km | Low | $0.013 | 1.4% | Yes |
| Belvedere 5,337 · 1.4 km | Low | $0.013 | 1.4% | None listed |
| Newton 2,809 · 1.8 km | Low | $0.013 | 1.4% | None listed |
| Overlanders 2,879 · 1.9 km | Low | $0.013 | 1.4% | Yes |
| Beacon Heights 4,389 · 2.0 km | Low | $0.013 | 1.4% | Yes |
None of the places around has more fire nearby than Homesteader (low); Clareview Town Centre comes closest (low).
Radon is the survey area’s figure, so neighbours in one area share it.
Get ready for what Homesteader faces
Practical steps for Homesteader’s hazards, most pressing first.
- 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?
- Ask the municipality for flood maps.
- 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 Homesteader.
- Earthquakes are modelled. The earthquake figure is an expected loss, not a forecast, worked out by NRCan for each census subdivision, Homesteader’s included.
- Flood studies aren’t flood zones. Flood studies cover areas of every size, which is why the page lists them for Homesteader without grading them.
- Radon is a survey. Radon figures pool the survey’s home tests by area: postal areas once their boundaries arrive, the 2007 health region around Homesteader until then.
Questions about flooding and hazards in Homesteader
Is radon a problem in Homesteader?
The area’s survey found 1.4% of 73 tested homes above Health Canada’s guideline, so a three-month test is worth doing in Homesteader.
How big is the earthquake risk in Homesteader?
In NRCan’s seismic model, Homesteader’s buildings lose $0.013 per $1,000 of value in an average year.
How is Homesteader’s Hazard risk Grade worked out?
Homesteader grades A+ for hazard risk, from earthquakes and radon, with wildfire counted only where it lowers the grade.
Does Homesteader flood?
The inventory has 0 studies for Homesteader, and an empty list isn’t a clean bill: the municipality holds any flood maps.
Is Homesteader at risk of wildfire?
Very little by the national record: Homesteader’s band is low, with 0% of the land within 25 km burned since 1986, so wildfire doesn’t change its 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).