Photo: P199 · CC BY-SA 3.0Flood mapping exists for Fort William 52: 2 on record, latest by Lakehead Region Conservation Authority
Burn scars are few around Fort William 52, with 0.2% of the land within 25 km touched by fire since 1986 (0.006% a year). Shaking is less of a worry than in most places, at $0.004 a year per $1,000 of building value ($0.030 typical). Radon is higher than usual: 12% of tested homes in the survey area topped the guideline, against 6.6% for the typical town. Fort William 52 grades A− for hazard risk, with wildfire counted against it.
What stands out about Fort William 52’s hazards
For Fort William 52, from NRCan’s seismic model, Health Canada’s radon survey, the national burned-area record and the flood map inventory.
What Fort William 52 faces
Each hazard against its own yardstick; meters run from low to high on that yardstick.
Wildfire
Earthquakes
Radon
Flood study
Hazard risk in Fort William 52: A−
Earthquake risk and radon make Fort William 52’s grade; wildfire can only lower it, never raise it, and flood studies are listed but not scored.
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.
Few fires near Fort William 52: 0% within 5 km, 0.2% within 25 km
Past fire around Fort William 52’s homes, from the national burned-area record, with the fuel within 5 km.
The yearly burn rate around Fort William 52 is 0.006%, low beside 0.000% for the typical Canadian town.
No fire has burned within 5 km of Fort William 52’s homes since 1986; the nearest burn is 16 km away.
54% of the land within 5 km of Fort William 52 is forest fuel, close to the 55% 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 Ontario · highest of 872
Sioux Lookout burns fastest in Ontario at 0.16% a year; Fort William 52, at 0.006%, ranks 39th of 872.
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.
Fort William 52 is in the low band with 92% of Canada’s 2,610 towns; 7.5% sit in moderate or 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.
2 flood studies cover Fort William 52, the newest from Lakehead Region Conservation Authority
What Canada’s Flood Map Inventory lists for Fort William 52: who studied flooding and where to see their maps.
The newest of 2 studies covering Fort William 52 is Lakehead Region Conservation Authority’s, from 2020; open its map to see the zones.
| Study | By | Year | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mosquito Creek | Lakehead Region Conservation Authority | 2020 | final · not public |
| Kaministiquia River | Lakehead Region Conservation Authority | 2020 | final · not public |
Towns with a flood study on file
Flood maps are common in Ontario: 69% of towns have one, against 58% nationally, and Fort William 52 is among them.
NRCan Canada Flood Map Inventory: a study footprint touching the town’s boundary; towns of 2,500 people or more.
Listed, not scored: a flood study proves a map exists, not that Fort William 52 floods.
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.
Earthquakes cost buildings in Fort William 52 just $0.004 per $1,000 a year
Expected yearly building losses from earthquakes, from Natural Resources Canada’s model.
At $0.004 per $1,000, Fort William 52 carries 0.1 times the typical Canadian town’s earthquake risk ($0.030): low.
Shaking damage a year per $1,000 of building value
The typical town in Ontario expects $0.043 a year in shaking damage; Fort William 52 expects less, $0.004, and Alexandria the most, $0.21.
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, Fort William 52 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).
For Fort William 52 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).
Test for radon in Fort William 52: 12% of area homes were over the guideline
Long-term radon tests in homes across the survey area, against Health Canada’s guideline. · Source area for radon tests: the Thunder Bay District Health Unit
At 12% over the guideline, the area around Fort William 52 beats the typical Canadian town’s 6.6%.
Tested homes over 200 Bq/m³
Over 600 Bq/m³
More homes top the guideline around Fort William 52 (12%) than in the typical town in Ontario (4%); 0.9% went over 600.
Health Canada radon survey (2009–2011), by 2007 health region; medians of towns of 2,500 people or more.
More high tests than most: Fort William 52 sits in a band that only 22% of Canada’s 2,611 towns share, with 4.6% above.
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.
Radon varies from house to house in Fort William 52, so the survey is a reason to test, not a result for yours.
Health Canada, Cross-Canada Survey of Radon Concentrations in Homes (2009–2011).
Where to get warnings in Fort William 52
Alerts for Fort William 52 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 Fort William 52 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)
Hazards in the places around Fort William 52
Wildfire band, earthquake risk, radon and flood studies for each place nearby.
| Town | Wildfire | Quake $/1,000 | Radon | Flood study |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fort William 52 | Low | $0.004 | 12% | Yes |
| Thunder Bay 117,671 · 9.6 km | Low | $0.005 | 12% | Yes |
| Oliver Paipoonge 6,524 · 19 km | Low | $0.005 | 12% | Yes |
Nowhere around Fort William 52 burns more: Thunder Bay, 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 Fort William 52 faces
Practical steps for Fort William 52’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?
- Check the address on the flood map.
- 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 Fort William 52 without grading them.
- Earthquakes are modelled. Seismic risk is NRCan’s model of yearly building losses from shaking, averaged over many years and given for Fort William 52’s census subdivision (a neighbourhood shows its city’s).
- Wildfire counts one way. For Fort William 52, 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. Radon figures pool the survey’s home tests by area: postal areas once their boundaries arrive, the 2007 health region around Fort William 52 until then.
Questions about flooding and hazards in Fort William 52
Is radon a problem in Fort William 52?
12% of the 108 homes Health Canada tested around Fort William 52 topped the guideline; your own house needs its own test.
Is Fort William 52 at risk of wildfire?
Not much by Canadian standards: Fort William 52’s band is low, with 0.2% of the land within 25 km burned since 1986 (last in 1991), so wildfire doesn’t change its grade.
How big is the earthquake risk in Fort William 52?
In NRCan’s seismic model, Fort William 52’s buildings lose $0.004 per $1,000 of value in an average year.
How is Fort William 52’s Hazard risk Grade worked out?
Fort William 52’s Hazard risk grade is A−, built on earthquakes and radon with a one-sided wildfire input.
Does Fort William 52 flood?
A flood study covers Fort William 52 on Canada’s Flood Map Inventory; open the owner’s map to check a street, since flood isn’t graded.
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).