Westcliffe East’s hazards at a glance: a low wildfire record and 5% of area homes over the radon guideline
No wildfire is mapped within 25 km of Westcliffe East’s homes since 1986 (0% of the land, 0.000% a year). For earthquakes Westcliffe East is middling, $0.044 a year per $1,000 against $0.030 for the typical town. Westcliffe East grades B+ for hazard risk; wildfire is low here, so it earns no credit.
What stands out about Westcliffe East’s hazards
Four national sources, each read for Westcliffe East: earthquakes, radon, past fires and flood studies.
What Westcliffe East faces
Each hazard against its own yardstick; meters run from low to high on that yardstick.
Wildfire
Earthquakes
Radon
Flood study
Westcliffe East grades B+ for hazard risk
Risk averages earthquakes and radon; wildfire joins only where it pulls the average down, so a town like Westcliffe East 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. Small fires and grass fires are largely missing from the national burned-area record.
Wildfire is rare near Westcliffe East: 0% of the land within 25 km burned since 1986, 0% within 5 km
Past fire around Westcliffe East’s homes, from the national burned-area record, with the fuel within 5 km.
The land within 25 km of Westcliffe East burns at 0.000% a year on average, the low band; the typical Canadian town: 0.000%.
Land that isn’t forest covers nearly all the ground around Westcliffe East: forest fuel is 0.9% within 5 km and 1.8% 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 Ontario · highest of 871
Near-zero burning puts Westcliffe East with 638 of the 871 towns in Ontario, far below Sioux Lookout at 0.16%.
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.
Only 7.5% of Canada’s 2,610 towns are above the low band, which holds 92%; Westcliffe East, at a rounded zero, is far from them.
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.
The flood map inventory lists nothing for Westcliffe East
What Canada’s Flood Map Inventory lists for Westcliffe East: who studied flooding and where to see their maps.
An empty entry for Westcliffe East on the inventory isn’t proof of safety; ask locally for flood maps.
Towns with a flood study on file
Flood maps are common in Ontario, 69% of towns against 58% nationally, but none in the inventory touches Westcliffe East.
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 Westcliffe East’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.”
Expected shaking damage in Westcliffe East: $0.044 a year per $1,000
Expected yearly building losses from earthquakes, from Natural Resources Canada’s model.
1.5 times the typical $0.030: Westcliffe East’s $0.044 is ordinary.
Westcliffe East doesn’t get its own earthquake risk figures; the ones here come from the city of Hamilton.
Shaking damage a year per $1,000 of building value
Neither high nor low in Ontario: Westcliffe East’s $0.044 sits by the median of $0.043, while Alexandria reaches $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.
32% of Canada’s 2,611 towns expect more shaking damage than Westcliffe East, which places it in the upper third.
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).
The loss is to Westcliffe East’s buildings alone, from ground shaking; infrastructure and secondary hazards are left out.
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 Westcliffe East: 5% over the guideline
Long-term radon tests in homes across the survey area, against Health Canada’s guideline.
Westcliffe East’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
Westcliffe East’s area, at 5%, is above the median in Ontario (4%).
Health Canada radon survey (2009–2011), by 2007 health region; medians of towns of 2,500 people or more.
Westcliffe East 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.
Basements, soil and how a house is sealed decide its radon, so in Westcliffe East only a test can say.
Health Canada, Cross-Canada Survey of Radon Concentrations in Homes (2009–2011). · Radon tests: one figure for all of the City of Hamilton Health Unit
Weather and fire alerts for Westcliffe East
Environment and Climate Change Canada issues the weather alerts for Westcliffe East; 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. |
Smoke and fire warnings for Westcliffe East come through Environment Canada and Alert Ready; the fire map is CWFIS’s.
Weather alerts (ECCC) · Alert Ready · Fire danger and active fires (CWFIS)
Hazards in the places around Westcliffe East
Wildfire band, earthquake risk, radon and flood studies for each place nearby.
| Town | Wildfire | Quake $/1,000 | Radon | Flood study |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Westcliffe East | Low | $0.044 | 5% | None listed |
| Buchanan 3,006 · 0.9 km | Low | $0.044 | 5% | None listed |
| Gilbert 3,181 · 1.0 km | Low | $0.044 | 5% | None listed |
| Mountview 7,752 · 1.2 km | Low | $0.044 | 5% | None listed |
| Fessenden 3,551 · 1.3 km | Low | $0.044 | 5% | None listed |
| Kirkendall South 3,033 · 1.5 km | Low | $0.044 | 5% | None listed |
| Rolston 6,124 · 1.6 km | Low | $0.044 | 5% | None listed |
Fire is no heavier anywhere nearby than around Westcliffe East (low), with Buchanan next at low.
Radon is the survey area’s figure, so neighbours in one area share it.
Get ready for what Westcliffe East faces
What to do about the hazards Westcliffe East 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
- Flood studies aren’t flood zones. Flood studies cover areas of every size, which is why the page lists them for Westcliffe East without grading them.
- Wildfire counts one way. The wildfire figure is the share of land within 25 km of Westcliffe East’s homes burned each year from 1986 to 2025, past fire rather than a forecast, and it can only lower Risk.
- Earthquakes are modelled. Shaking damage is modelled from the ground, the buildings and the odds of each quake, and published for whole subdivisions such as Westcliffe East’s.
- 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 Westcliffe East until then.
Questions about flooding and hazards in Westcliffe East
Is radon a problem in Westcliffe East?
Around Westcliffe East, 100 survey homes were tested and 5% came in over 200 Bq/m³, a guide to the area, not to any one home.
How big is the earthquake risk in Westcliffe East?
In NRCan’s seismic model, Westcliffe East’s buildings lose $0.044 per $1,000 of value in an average year.
Is Westcliffe East at risk of wildfire?
No meaningful wildfire history near Westcliffe East: 0% of nearby land since 1986, band low.
Does Westcliffe East flood?
With 0 studies on the inventory, Westcliffe East’s flood risk is unmapped nationally; check with the municipality before buying.
How is Westcliffe East’s Hazard risk Grade worked out?
Westcliffe East’s Hazard risk grade is B+, built on earthquakes and radon with a one-sided wildfire input.
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).