Wildfire low, radon 7.5%: how Ermineskin 138 stands on hazards
The national fire record shows next to nothing around Ermineskin 138, 0% of the land within 25 km since 1986 (0.000% a year). Shaking is less of a worry than in most places, at $0.015 a year per $1,000 of building value ($0.030 typical). Ermineskin 138 grades A− for hazard risk; wildfire is low here, so it earns no credit.
What stands out about Ermineskin 138’s hazards
Four national sources, each read for Ermineskin 138: earthquakes, radon, past fires and flood studies.
What Ermineskin 138 faces
Each hazard against its own yardstick; meters run from low to high on that yardstick.
Wildfire
Earthquakes
Radon
Flood study
Ermineskin 138 grades A− for hazard risk
Risk averages earthquakes and radon; wildfire joins only where it pulls the average down, so a town like Ermineskin 138 with little fire nearby would get no credit for it.
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.
Wildfire is rare near Ermineskin 138: 0% of the land within 25 km burned since 1986, 0% within 5 km
Past fire around Ermineskin 138’s homes, from the national burned-area record, with the fuel within 5 km.
A burn rate of 0.000% a year keeps Ermineskin 138 in the low band (the typical Canadian town: 0.000%).
Around Ermineskin 138 the forest is thin or far off: 0% of the land within 5 km and 0.3% within 25 km is forest fuel.
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 479
Wainwright has the highest burn rate in Alberta, 1.43% a year; around Ermineskin 138, as around 387 of the 479 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.
Most of the country’s 2,610 towns are low-band (92%, against 7.5% above); around Ermineskin 138, burning rounds to zero.
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 Ermineskin 138
What Canada’s Flood Map Inventory lists for Ermineskin 138: who studied flooding and where to see their maps.
An empty entry for Ermineskin 138 on the inventory isn’t proof of safety; ask locally for flood maps.
Towns with a flood study on file
Flood maps are thinner in Alberta, 46% of towns against 58% nationally, and Ermineskin 138 has none.
NRCan Canada Flood Map Inventory: a study footprint touching the town’s boundary; towns of 2,500 people or more.
The grade leaves flood out, since a study area says nothing about how many of Ermineskin 138’s homes are at risk.
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 Ermineskin 138: $0.015 per $1,000 of buildings a year
Expected yearly building losses from earthquakes, from Natural Resources Canada’s model.
Ermineskin 138’s $0.015 is a fraction of the typical town’s $0.030 (0.5 times as much): quiet ground by Canadian standards.
Shaking damage a year per $1,000 of building value
Neither high nor low in Alberta: Ermineskin 138’s $0.015 sits by the median of $0.013, while Black Diamond reaches $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 Ermineskin 138 than in 72% 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).
The model counts damage to Ermineskin 138’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 Ermineskin 138: 7.5% over the guideline
Long-term radon tests in homes across the survey area, against Health Canada’s guideline. · The radon tests numbers here cover the David Thompson Regional Health Authority
Around Ermineskin 138, 7.5% of tested homes topped the guideline, near the typical Canadian town’s 6.6%.
Tested homes over 200 Bq/m³
Over 600 Bq/m³
Ermineskin 138’s area, at 7.5%, is close to the median in Alberta (7.5%).
Health Canada radon survey (2009–2011), by 2007 health region; medians of towns of 2,500 people or more.
A middling share of high tests puts Ermineskin 138 with 37% of Canada’s 2,611 towns, below 26% of them.
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 Ermineskin 138 as anywhere, test to be sure.
Health Canada, Cross-Canada Survey of Radon Concentrations in Homes (2009–2011).
Weather and fire alerts for Ermineskin 138
Environment and Climate Change Canada issues the weather alerts for Ermineskin 138; 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. |
In fire season, check CWFIS for danger and active fires around Ermineskin 138, and listen to local authorities for orders.
Weather alerts (ECCC) · Alert Ready · Fire danger and active fires (CWFIS)
Hazards in the places around Ermineskin 138
Wildfire band, earthquake risk, radon and flood studies for each place nearby.
| Town | Wildfire | Quake $/1,000 | Radon | Flood study |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ermineskin 138 | Low | $0.015 | 7.5% | None listed |
| Samson 137 3,427 · 8.2 km | Low | $0.016 | 7.5% | None listed |
| Louis Bull 138B 1,394 · 8.3 km | Low | $0.012 | 7.5% | None listed |
| Wetaskiwin 13,703 · 14 km | Low | $0.017 | 7.5% | None listed |
The neighbour with the most fire is Samson 137 (low), still no more than Ermineskin 138 (low).
Radon is the survey area’s figure, so neighbours in one area share it.
Get ready for what Ermineskin 138 faces
What to do about the hazards Ermineskin 138 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?
- Ask the municipality for flood maps.
- Are flood and wildfire insured?
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Flood studies aren’t flood zones. Flood studies cover areas of every size, which is why the page lists them for Ermineskin 138 without grading them.
- Wildfire counts one way. The wildfire figure is the share of land within 25 km of Ermineskin 138’s homes burned each year from 1986 to 2025, past fire rather than a forecast, and it can only lower Risk.
- 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 Ermineskin 138 until then.
- 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 Ermineskin 138’s.
Questions about flooding and hazards in Ermineskin 138
Is Ermineskin 138 at risk of wildfire?
Very little by the national record: Ermineskin 138’s band is low, with 0% of the land within 25 km burned since 1986, so wildfire doesn’t change its grade.
Does Ermineskin 138 flood?
Nothing is listed for Ermineskin 138 on the national inventory (0); local maps may still exist with the municipality.
Is radon a problem in Ermineskin 138?
In Health Canada’s survey, 7.5% of 107 homes tested in Ermineskin 138’s area were above 200 Bq/m³, though only a test tells you about one house.
How big is the earthquake risk in Ermineskin 138?
In NRCan’s seismic model, Ermineskin 138’s buildings lose $0.015 per $1,000 of value in an average year.
How is Ermineskin 138’s Hazard risk Grade worked out?
Ermineskin 138’s Hazard risk grade is A−, built on earthquakes and radon with a one-sided wildfire input.
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).