Photo: Gogerr · CC BY-SA 4.0A flood study covers Fruitland: 4 on the national inventory, the newest from Hamilton Conservation Authority
Around Fruitland, wildfire is practically absent from the record: 0% within 25 km since 1986, 0.000% a year. NRCan expects $0.044 of shaking damage a year per $1,000 of buildings in Fruitland, near the typical $0.030. About as many homes carry radon around Fruitland as elsewhere, 5% over the guideline where the typical town has 6.6%. Fruitland grades B+ for hazard risk; wildfire is low here, so it earns no credit.
What stands out about Fruitland’s hazards
For Fruitland, from NRCan’s seismic model, Health Canada’s radon survey, the national burned-area record and the flood map inventory.
What Fruitland faces
Each hazard against its own yardstick; meters run from low to high on that yardstick.
Wildfire
Earthquakes
Radon
Flood study
Fruitland grades B+ for hazard risk
Risk averages earthquakes and radon; wildfire joins only where it pulls the average down, so a town like Fruitland with little fire nearby would get no credit for it.
Its place: #494 of 866 in Ontario and #1,255 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 Fruitland has burned: 0% within 5 km, 0% within 25 km since 1986
Fires mapped since 1986 around where Fruitland’s residents live, and the fuel next to their homes.
Forty years of fire maps put Fruitland at 0.000% a year, low next to the typical Canadian town’s 0.000%.
Land that isn’t forest covers nearly all the ground around Fruitland: forest fuel is 0.2% within 5 km and 0.5% 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 871
Among the 871 towns in Ontario, Sioux Lookout burns fastest (0.16% a year); Fruitland is with the 638 near 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.
Fruitland shares the low band with 92% of Canada’s 2,610 towns, its burn rate rounding to nothing; 7.5% burn faster.
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.
Flooding around Fruitland is mapped in 4 studies, the newest by Hamilton Conservation Authority
Flood studies whose area touches Fruitland, from NRCan’s inventory, each linked to its owner.
Hamilton Conservation Authority and others have studied flooding in areas that include Fruitland: 4 studies, the latest from 2025.
| Study | By | Year | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red Hill Creek | Hamilton Conservation Authority | 2025 | final |
| Floodplain Mapping Update in the Towns of Grimsby and Lincoln | Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority | 2021 | final |
| Sinkhole Creek | Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority | 2006 | final |
| Forty Mile Creek | Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority | 1998 | final |
Towns with a flood study on file
Mapping in Ontario reaches 69% of towns, Fruitland included, beside 58% across Canada.
NRCan Canada Flood Map Inventory: a study footprint touching the town’s boundary; towns of 2,500 people or more.
Mapping around Fruitland goes back to the 1990s and peaks in the 2020s, with 2 of its 4 studies.
Study dates as the NRCan inventory lists them, one count per study touching Fruitland.
The grade leaves flood out, since a study area says nothing about how many of Fruitland’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.”
Natural Resources Canada, Canada Flood Map Inventory; links go to each study’s owner.
Ordinary seismic risk in Fruitland: $0.044 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 $0.044 per $1,000, Fruitland’s earthquake risk is about the typical Canadian town’s ($0.030; 1.5 times).
Behind earthquake risk sits data gathered across the city of Hamilton, with Fruitland one part of it.
Shaking damage a year per $1,000 of building value
Shaking damage around Fruitland runs at $0.044 a year, near the $0.043 of the typical town in Ontario; Alexandria has $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.
In the upper part of Canada’s range: 32% of its 2,611 towns expect more damage than Fruitland.
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 Fruitland 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).
Radon about average around Fruitland: 5% over the 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 City of Hamilton Health Unit
Fruitland’s area, at 5%, is close to the 6.6% of the typical Canadian town.
Tested homes over 200 Bq/m³
Over 600 Bq/m³
More homes top the guideline around Fruitland (5%) than in the typical town in Ontario (4%).
Health Canada radon survey (2009–2011), by 2007 health region; medians of towns of 2,500 people or more.
26% of Canada’s 2,611 towns have more homes over 200 Bq/m³ than Fruitland’s 5–10% band, which holds 37%.
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, Fruitland’s included, whatever the area’s figure.
Health Canada, Cross-Canada Survey of Radon Concentrations in Homes (2009–2011).
Where to get warnings in Fruitland
Environment and Climate Change Canada issues the weather alerts for Fruitland; 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. |
For fires near Fruitland, the national fire information system maps danger and active fires daily; local authorities give any evacuation order.
Weather alerts (ECCC) · Alert Ready · Fire danger and active fires (CWFIS)
How Fruitland’s neighbours compare on hazards
The same four hazards for the places next door.
| Town | Wildfire | Quake $/1,000 | Radon | Flood study |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fruitland | Low | $0.044 | 5% | Yes |
| Highway Valley 4,469 · 1.6 km | Low | $0.044 | 5% | None listed |
| Stoney Creek 3,828 · 2.5 km | Low | $0.044 | 5% | None listed |
| Poplar Park 3,031 · 2.6 km | Low | $0.044 | 5% | None listed |
| Guernsey 3,808 · 3.0 km | Low | $0.044 | 5% | None listed |
| Eastdale 2,703 · 3.0 km | Low | $0.044 | 5% | None listed |
| Westmeria 2,646 · 3.0 km | Low | $0.044 | 5% | None listed |
Among its neighbours Fruitland has the most fire on record (low); Highway Valley follows (low).
Radon is the survey area’s figure, so neighbours in one area share it.
Get ready for what Fruitland faces
What to do about the hazards Fruitland 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
- 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 Fruitland sits in.
- Earthquakes are modelled. Seismic risk is NRCan’s model of yearly building losses from shaking, averaged over many years and given for Fruitland’s census subdivision (a neighbourhood shows its city’s).
- 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 Fruitland floods.
- Wildfire counts one way. For Fruitland, wildfire means how much nearby land burned in the past forty years, a one-way input that can pull Risk down and nothing more.
Questions about flooding and hazards in Fruitland
How is Fruitland’s Hazard risk Grade worked out?
Fruitland’s Hazard risk grade is B+, built on earthquakes and radon with a one-sided wildfire input.
Does Fruitland flood?
Fruitland’s area has been studied for flooding, and the owner’s map shows which streets lie in a zone; the grade leaves flood out.
How big is the earthquake risk in Fruitland?
Expected earthquake damage in Fruitland comes to $0.044 a year for each $1,000 that buildings are worth.
Is radon a problem in Fruitland?
In Health Canada’s survey, 5% of 100 homes tested in Fruitland’s area were above 200 Bq/m³, though only a test tells you about one house.
Is Fruitland at risk of wildfire?
The burned-area record shows next to nothing around Fruitland (0% within 25 km since 1986), so its band is 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).