Lesser Slave River No. 124 faces more hazards than 98% of Canadian towns
Wildfire is a real hazard for Lesser Slave River No. 124: 24% of the land within 25 km has burned since 1986, 0.67% a year, in the high band. 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. In Health Canada’s survey, 9.6% of homes tested in Lesser Slave River No. 124’s area exceeded 200 Bq/m³, close to the typical 6.6%. Lesser Slave River No. 124 grades D− for hazard risk, with wildfire counted against it.
What stands out about Lesser Slave River No. 124’s hazards
For Lesser Slave River No. 124, from NRCan’s seismic model, Health Canada’s radon survey, the national burned-area record and the flood map inventory.
What Lesser Slave River No. 124 faces
Each hazard against its own yardstick; meters run from low to high on that yardstick.
Wildfire
Earthquakes
Radon
Flood study
Hazard risk in Lesser Slave River No. 124: D−
Earthquake risk and radon make Lesser Slave River No. 124’s grade; wildfire can only lower it, never raise it, and flood studies are listed but not scored.
Its place: #471 of 474 in Alberta and #2,578 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 high wildfire band for Lesser Slave River No. 124: 34% within 5 km, 24% within 25 km
Fires mapped since 1986 around where Lesser Slave River No. 124’s residents live, and the fuel next to their homes.
At 0.67% of the land a year, Lesser Slave River No. 124’s burn rate is high, many times the typical Canadian town’s 0.000%.
Near or far, forest fuel covers a similar share around Lesser Slave River No. 124: 55% within 5 km and 50% within 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 Alberta · highest of 478
Lesser Slave River No. 124 ranks 4th of the 478 towns in Alberta for burn rate, at 0.67% a year; Wainwright leads with 1.43%.
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.
Lesser Slave River No. 124 is one of the few of Canada’s 2,610 towns in the high band (1.9%); 0.2% rank very high.
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.
2 flood studies cover Lesser Slave River No. 124, the newest from Government of Alberta
Flood studies whose area touches Lesser Slave River No. 124, from NRCan’s inventory, each linked to its owner.
The newest of 2 studies covering Lesser Slave River No. 124 is Government of Alberta’s, from 2024; open its map to see the zones.
| Study | By | Year | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marten Beach Flood Study | Government of Alberta | 2024 | final |
| Slave Lake Flood Study | Government of Alberta | 2024 | final |
Towns with a flood study on file
Lesser Slave River No. 124 is one of the 46% of towns in Alberta with a flood study on file, fewer than 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 Lesser Slave River No. 124.
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.
Low seismic risk in Lesser Slave River No. 124: $0.005 per $1,000 of buildings a year
NRCan’s seismic risk model: the damage shaking is expected to do to buildings each year, on average over many years.
At $0.005 per $1,000, Lesser Slave River No. 124 carries 0.2 times the typical Canadian town’s earthquake risk ($0.030): low.
Shaking damage a year per $1,000 of building value
Lesser Slave River No. 124’s $0.005 sits under the median in Alberta, $0.013, and well under 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.
Nearly every one of Canada’s 2,611 towns (96%) expects more shaking damage than Lesser Slave River No. 124.
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 Lesser Slave River No. 124.
Natural Resources Canada, Canada’s Seismic Risk Model (2022), by census subdivision (2016 boundaries; a few 2021 subdivisions take their residents’ mean).
9.6% of homes tested around Lesser Slave River No. 124 are over the radon guideline
Health Canada’s survey of long-term home tests: the share above the 200 Bq/m³ guideline. · Measured across the Aspen Regional Health Authority: radon tests
Near the middle for radon: Lesser Slave River No. 124’s area 9.6%, the typical Canadian town 6.6%.
Tested homes over 200 Bq/m³
Over 600 Bq/m³
Lesser Slave River No. 124’s area, at 9.6%, is above the median in Alberta (7.5%), and 0.5% of its tests passed 600 Bq/m³.
Health Canada radon survey (2009–2011), by 2007 health region; medians of towns of 2,500 people or more.
37% of Canada’s 2,611 towns share Lesser Slave River No. 124’s band of 5 to 10%; 26% sit 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.
Neighbouring homes in Lesser Slave River No. 124 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).
Where to get warnings in Lesser Slave River No. 124
Alerts for Lesser Slave River No. 124 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 Lesser Slave River No. 124 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 Lesser Slave River No. 124’s neighbours compare on hazards
The same four hazards for the places next door.
| Town | Wildfire | Quake $/1,000 | Radon | Flood study |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lesser Slave River No. 124 | High | $0.005 | 9.6% | Yes |
| Slave Lake 7,334 · 11 km | High | $0.004 | 9.6% | Yes |
Slave Lake burns a little more than Lesser Slave River No. 124, 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 Lesser Slave River No. 124 faces
Practical steps for Lesser Slave River No. 124’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
- Earthquakes are modelled. Seismic risk is NRCan’s model of yearly building losses from shaking, averaged over many years and given for Lesser Slave River No. 124’s census subdivision (a neighbourhood shows its city’s).
- Wildfire counts one way. For Lesser Slave River No. 124, wildfire means how much nearby land burned in the past forty years, a one-way input that can pull Risk down and nothing more.
- Radon is a survey. Health Canada’s survey tested some 14,000 homes over three months; until postal-area boundaries are loaded, Lesser Slave River No. 124 takes its 2007 health region’s share.
- 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 Lesser Slave River No. 124.
Questions about flooding and hazards in Lesser Slave River No. 124
Is radon a problem in Lesser Slave River No. 124?
9.6% of the 219 homes Health Canada tested around Lesser Slave River No. 124 topped the guideline; your own house needs its own test.
How big is the earthquake risk in Lesser Slave River No. 124?
About $0.005 a year per $1,000 of building value, NRCan’s long-run expectation for Lesser Slave River No. 124.
How is Lesser Slave River No. 124’s Hazard risk Grade worked out?
Lesser Slave River No. 124 grades D− for hazard risk, from earthquakes and radon, with wildfire counted only where it lowers the grade.
Is Lesser Slave River No. 124 at risk of wildfire?
It is: 24% of the land within 25 km of Lesser Slave River No. 124 has burned since 1986, the latest in 2025, which puts it in the high band that lowers Risk.
Does Lesser Slave River No. 124 flood?
The inventory lists a study touching Lesser Slave River No. 124; whether a given street floods is on that map, not in the 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).