Hazard risk in Minburn County No. 27 is lower than in 97% of Canadian towns
Wildfire barely registers for Minburn County No. 27, at 0% of the land within 25 km since 1986 (0.000% a year). Earthquakes matter little: NRCan’s model puts building losses at $0.006 a year per $1,000 of value, against $0.030 for the typical town. Minburn County No. 27’s survey area, 5.2% over the radon guideline, is close to the typical town’s 6.6%. Hazard risk gives Minburn County No. 27 a grade of A+, from earthquakes and radon alone.
What stands out about Minburn County No. 27’s hazards
For Minburn County No. 27, from NRCan’s seismic model, Health Canada’s radon survey, the national burned-area record and the flood map inventory.
What Minburn County No. 27 faces
Each hazard against its own yardstick; meters run from low to high on that yardstick.
Wildfire
Earthquakes
Radon
Flood study
Minburn County No. 27 grades A+ for hazard risk
Risk averages earthquakes and radon; wildfire joins only where it pulls the average down, so a town like Minburn County No. 27 with little fire nearby would get no credit for it.
Its place: #212 of 474 in Alberta and #234 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.
Little of the land around Minburn County No. 27 has burned: 0% within 5 km, 0% within 25 km since 1986
Fires mapped since 1986 around where Minburn County No. 27’s residents live, and the fuel next to their homes.
At 0.000% of the land a year, Minburn County No. 27’s burn rate is in the low band; the typical Canadian town sees 0.000%.
Forest fuel is scarce around Minburn County No. 27: 0% of the land within 5 km, 0% 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
Little or nothing burns around Minburn County No. 27 in a typical year; 386 of the 478 towns in Alberta share that, and Wainwright leads at 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.
Like most of Canada’s 2,610 towns (92%), Minburn County No. 27 is in the low band, with a burn rate of zero to three decimals; 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.
A flood study covers Minburn County No. 27, from Government of Alberta: 1 on the inventory
Flood studies whose area touches Minburn County No. 27, from NRCan’s inventory, each linked to its owner.
A 2025 study by Government of Alberta covers Minburn County No. 27, and its map, not the inventory, shows the zones.
| Study | By | Year | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vegreville Flood Study | Government of Alberta | 2025 | final |
Towns with a flood study on file
Minburn County No. 27 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 is shown here, never graded: a study says where a map exists, not how many of Minburn County No. 27’s homes stand in a flood zone.
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 Minburn County No. 27: $0.006 a year per $1,000
NRCan’s seismic risk model: the damage shaking is expected to do to buildings each year, on average over many years.
Minburn County No. 27’s $0.006 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
The typical town in Alberta expects $0.013 a year in shaking damage; Minburn County No. 27 expects less, $0.006, and Black Diamond the most, $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.
Minburn County No. 27 is in the lower part of Canada’s range for earthquake risk; 88% 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).
Only shaking damage to buildings in Minburn County No. 27 is counted; landslides, liquefaction, tsunami and fire after a quake aren’t.
Natural Resources Canada, Canada’s Seismic Risk Model (2022), by census subdivision (2016 boundaries; a few 2021 subdivisions take their residents’ mean).
5.2% of homes tested around Minburn County No. 27 are over the radon guideline
Health Canada’s survey of long-term home tests: the share above the 200 Bq/m³ guideline. · Area-wide: radon tests, counted over the East Central Health
Around Minburn County No. 27, 5.2% of tested homes topped the guideline, near the typical Canadian town’s 6.6%.
Tested homes over 200 Bq/m³
Over 600 Bq/m³
Fewer homes top the guideline around Minburn County No. 27 (5.2%) than in the typical town in Alberta (7.5%), yet 1% went over 600.
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 Minburn County No. 27 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.
Health Canada advises testing every home, Minburn County No. 27’s included, whatever the area’s figure.
Health Canada, Cross-Canada Survey of Radon Concentrations in Homes (2009–2011).
Where to get warnings in Minburn County No. 27
Environment and Climate Change Canada issues the weather alerts for Minburn County No. 27; 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 Minburn County No. 27, and listen to local authorities for orders.
Weather alerts (ECCC) · Alert Ready · Fire danger and active fires (CWFIS)
How Minburn County No. 27’s neighbours compare on hazards
The same four hazards for the places next door.
| Town | Wildfire | Quake $/1,000 | Radon | Flood study |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minburn County No. 27 | Low | $0.006 | 5.2% | Yes |
| Vegreville 6,153 · 18 km | Low | $0.007 | 5.2% | Yes |
Nowhere around Minburn County No. 27 burns more: Vegreville, the closest rival, is low to its low.
Radon is the survey area’s figure, so neighbours in one area share it.
Get ready for what Minburn County No. 27 faces
What to do about the hazards Minburn County No. 27 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?
- Check the address on the flood map.
- Are flood and wildfire insured?
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Wildfire counts one way. For Minburn County No. 27, wildfire means how much nearby land burned in the past forty years, a one-way input that can pull Risk down and nothing more.
- 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 Minburn County No. 27 floods.
- 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 Minburn County No. 27 sits in.
- Earthquakes are modelled. Seismic risk is NRCan’s model of yearly building losses from shaking, averaged over many years and given for Minburn County No. 27’s census subdivision (a neighbourhood shows its city’s).
Questions about flooding and hazards in Minburn County No. 27
How big is the earthquake risk in Minburn County No. 27?
Expected earthquake damage in Minburn County No. 27 comes to $0.006 a year for each $1,000 that buildings are worth.
How is Minburn County No. 27’s Hazard risk Grade worked out?
27 A+, weighing earthquakes and radon and counting wildfire only against it.
Is radon a problem in Minburn County No. 27?
In Health Canada’s survey, 5.2% of 97 homes tested in Minburn County No. 27’s area were above 200 Bq/m³, though only a test tells you about one house.
Does Minburn County No. 27 flood?
Minburn County No. 27’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 Minburn County No. 27 at risk of wildfire?
No meaningful wildfire history near Minburn County No. 27: 0% of nearby land since 1986, band low.
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).