Photo: runran from An island in the stream · CC BY-SA 2.0St. Paul County No. 19 faces fewer hazards than 86% of Canadian towns
Fire seldom reaches St. Paul County No. 19: since 1986, 0.3% of the land within 25 km has burned (0.007% a year). Seismic risk runs low: $0.004 of expected damage per $1,000 of buildings a year, the typical town $0.030. St. Paul County No. 19’s survey area, 9.6% over the radon guideline, is close to the typical town’s 6.6%. Hazard risk gives St. Paul County No. 19 a grade of A; its wildfire band pulls it down.
What stands out about St. Paul County No. 19’s hazards
For St. Paul County No. 19, from NRCan’s seismic model, Health Canada’s radon survey, the national burned-area record and the flood map inventory.
What St. Paul County No. 19 faces
Each hazard against its own yardstick; meters run from low to high on that yardstick.
Wildfire
Earthquakes
Radon
Flood study
St. Paul County No. 19 grades A for hazard risk
Risk averages earthquakes and radon; wildfire joins only where it pulls the average down, so a town like St. Paul County No. 19 with little fire nearby would get no credit for it.
Its place: #226 of 474 in Alberta and #563 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.
Few fires near St. Paul County No. 19: 0.1% within 5 km, 0.3% within 25 km
Fires mapped since 1986 around where St. Paul County No. 19’s residents live, and the fuel next to their homes.
With 0.007% burned a year, St. Paul County No. 19 is among the many low-band places (the typical Canadian town 0.000%).
Forest fuel is scarce around St. Paul County No. 19: 1.8% of the land within 5 km, 3.8% 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
At 0.007% a year, St. Paul County No. 19 is near the top in Alberta: 63rd of 478, behind Wainwright (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.
7.5% of Canada’s 2,610 towns burn fast enough to rank moderate or above; St. Paul County No. 19 stays low, with 92%.
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.
No flood study is listed for St. Paul County No. 19
Flood studies whose area touches St. Paul County No. 19, from NRCan’s inventory, each linked to its owner.
The inventory has nothing for St. Paul County No. 19, but a local or conservation-authority map may still exist.
Towns with a flood study on file
St. Paul County No. 19 has no flood study on file; only 46% of towns in Alberta do, against 58% across Canada.
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 St. Paul County No. 19.
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.”
Earthquakes cost buildings in St. Paul County No. 19 just $0.004 per $1,000 a year
NRCan’s seismic risk model: the damage shaking is expected to do to buildings each year, on average over many years.
St. Paul County No. 19’s $0.004 is a fraction of the typical town’s $0.030 (0.1 times as much): quiet ground by Canadian standards.
Shaking damage a year per $1,000 of building value
Below the middle in Alberta: St. Paul County No. 19’s $0.004 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.
At the bottom of Canada’s range, St. Paul County No. 19 has 98% of the 2,611 towns above it.
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 St. Paul County No. 19.
Natural Resources Canada, Canada’s Seismic Risk Model (2022), by census subdivision (2016 boundaries; a few 2021 subdivisions take their residents’ mean).
Some radon around St. Paul County No. 19: 9.6% of area homes over the guideline
Health Canada’s survey of long-term home tests: the share above the 200 Bq/m³ guideline.
At 9.6% over the guideline, the area around St. Paul County No. 19 is about level with the typical Canadian town’s 6.6%.
Tested homes over 200 Bq/m³
Over 600 Bq/m³
More homes top the guideline around St. Paul County No. 19 (9.6%) than in the typical town in Alberta (7.5%); 0.5% went over 600.
Health Canada radon survey (2009–2011), by 2007 health region; medians of towns of 2,500 people or more.
St. Paul County No. 19 is in the 5–10% band with 37% of Canada’s 2,611 towns; 26% have more.
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 St. Paul County No. 19 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 St. Paul County No. 19
Alerts for St. Paul County No. 19 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. |
Fire danger and active fires near St. Paul County No. 19 are mapped daily by the Canadian Wildland Fire Information System; evacuation orders come from the municipality or province.
Weather alerts (ECCC) · Alert Ready · Fire danger and active fires (CWFIS)
How St. Paul County No. 19’s neighbours compare on hazards
The same four hazards for the places next door.
| Town | Wildfire | Quake $/1,000 | Radon | Flood study |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Paul County No. 19 | Low | $0.004 | 9.6% | None listed |
| St. Paul 6,218 · 10 km | Low | $0.006 | 9.6% | None listed |
None of the places around has more fire nearby than St. Paul County No. 19 (low); St. Paul comes closest (low).
Radon is the survey area’s figure, so neighbours in one area share it.
Get ready for what St. Paul County No. 19 faces
What to do about the hazards St. Paul County No. 19 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
- Earthquakes are modelled. The earthquake figure is an expected loss, not a forecast, worked out by NRCan for each census subdivision, St. Paul County No. 19’s included.
- 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 St. Paul County No. 19.
- 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 St. Paul County No. 19.
- Radon is a survey. Health Canada’s survey tested some 14,000 homes over three months; until postal-area boundaries are loaded, St. Paul County No. 19 takes its 2007 health region’s share.
Questions about flooding and hazards in St. Paul County No. 19
How is St. Paul County No. 19’s Hazard risk Grade worked out?
St. Paul County No. 19 grades A for hazard risk, from earthquakes and radon, with wildfire counted only where it lowers the grade.
Does St. Paul County No. 19 flood?
Nothing is listed for St. Paul County No. 19 on the national inventory (0); local maps may still exist with the municipality.
Is St. Paul County No. 19 at risk of wildfire?
Less than most of Canada: 0.3% of the land within 25 km of St. Paul County No. 19 has burned since 1986, the last in 2025, a low band that leaves Risk alone.
How big is the earthquake risk in St. Paul County No. 19?
About $0.004 a year per $1,000 of building value, NRCan’s long-run expectation for St. Paul County No. 19.
Is radon a problem in St. Paul County No. 19?
In Health Canada’s survey, 9.6% of 219 homes tested in St. Paul County No. 19’s area were above 200 Bq/m³, though only a test tells you about one house.
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).