Photo: Schreiber Public Library · Public domainSchreiber’s hazards at a glance: a low wildfire record and 12% of area homes over the radon guideline
Fire seldom reaches Schreiber: since 1986, 0.7% of the land within 25 km has burned (0.02% a year). Earthquakes matter little: NRCan’s model puts building losses at $0.002 a year per $1,000 of value, against $0.030 for the typical town. Hazard risk gives Schreiber a grade of A−; its wildfire band pulls it down.
What stands out about Schreiber’s hazards
For Schreiber, from NRCan’s seismic model, Health Canada’s radon survey, the national burned-area record and the flood map inventory.
What Schreiber faces
Each hazard against its own yardstick; meters run from low to high on that yardstick.
Wildfire
Earthquakes
Radon
Flood study
Schreiber grades A− for hazard risk
Two inputs always count for Schreiber, earthquakes and radon; the third, wildfire, counts only against a town.
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 Schreiber: 0% within 5 km, 0.7% within 25 km
Fires mapped since 1986 around where Schreiber’s residents live, and the fuel next to their homes.
Forty years of fire maps put Schreiber at 0.02% a year, low next to the typical Canadian town’s 0.000%.
Nothing inside 5 km of Schreiber’s homes has burned since 1986, and the nearest scar is 13 km off.
81% of the land within 5 km of Schreiber is forest fuel, close to the 82% 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
In the top quarter in Ontario: Schreiber ranks 19th of 872 at 0.02% a year, with Sioux Lookout first 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.
7.5% of Canada’s 2,610 towns burn fast enough to rank moderate or above; Schreiber 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 Schreiber
Flood studies whose area touches Schreiber, from NRCan’s inventory, each linked to its owner.
The inventory has nothing for Schreiber, but a local or conservation-authority map may still exist.
Towns with a flood study on file
69% of towns in Ontario have a flood study, more than Canada’s 58%; Schreiber is not yet one of them.
NRCan Canada Flood Map Inventory: a study footprint touching the town’s boundary; towns of 2,500 people or more.
Flood mapping is shown for Schreiber to be opened and checked, never turned into a grade.
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 Schreiber just $0.002 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.
0.1 times the typical $0.030: Schreiber’s $0.002 is low for Canada.
Shaking damage a year per $1,000 of building value
Earthquake risk in Ontario peaks in Alexandria ($0.21); Schreiber, at $0.002, is below the median of $0.043.
NRCan seismic risk model (2022): mean yearly building loss per $1,000 of value; medians of towns of 2,500 people or more.
Nearly every one of Canada’s 2,611 towns (100%) expects more shaking damage than Schreiber.
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 Schreiber 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 Schreiber: 12% of area homes were over the guideline
Health Canada’s survey of long-term home tests: the share above the 200 Bq/m³ guideline. · Measured across the Thunder Bay District Health Unit: radon tests
A higher share than most: 12% of tested homes around Schreiber, the typical Canadian town 6.6%.
Tested homes over 200 Bq/m³
Over 600 Bq/m³
Schreiber’s area, at 12%, is above the median in Ontario (4%), and 0.9% of its tests passed 600 Bq/m³.
Health Canada radon survey (2009–2011), by 2007 health region; medians of towns of 2,500 people or more.
4.6% of Canada’s 2,611 towns have a higher share of homes over 200 Bq/m³ than Schreiber, in the 10–20% band with 22%.
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, Schreiber’s included, whatever the area’s figure.
Health Canada, Cross-Canada Survey of Radon Concentrations in Homes (2009–2011).
Where to get warnings in Schreiber
Alerts for Schreiber 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. |
Alert Ready carries evacuation orders for Schreiber to phones; CWFIS shows the day’s fire danger.
Weather alerts (ECCC) · Alert Ready · Fire danger and active fires (CWFIS)
How Schreiber’s neighbours compare on hazards
The same four hazards for the places next door.
| Town | Wildfire | Quake $/1,000 | Radon | Flood study |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Schreiber | Low | $0.002 | 12% | None listed |
| Terrace Bay 1,553 · 12 km | Low | $0.003 | 12% | None listed |
Terrace Bay burns a little more than Schreiber, in the same low band (low here).
Radon is the survey area’s figure, so neighbours in one area share it.
Get ready for what Schreiber faces
What to do about the hazards Schreiber 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. The flood inventory points to maps; it is incomplete and not the official source, so ask the municipality about any street in Schreiber.
- Earthquakes are modelled. The earthquake figure is an expected loss, not a forecast, worked out by NRCan for each census subdivision, Schreiber’s included.
- 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 Schreiber.
- Radon is a survey. Health Canada’s survey tested some 14,000 homes over three months; until postal-area boundaries are loaded, Schreiber takes its 2007 health region’s share.
Questions about flooding and hazards in Schreiber
Is Schreiber at risk of wildfire?
Fire has reached 0.7% of the land around Schreiber since 1986 (last in 1998); at low, it neither helps nor hurts the grade.
Does Schreiber flood?
With 0 studies on the inventory, Schreiber’s flood risk is unmapped nationally; check with the municipality before buying.
How big is the earthquake risk in Schreiber?
Expected earthquake damage in Schreiber comes to $0.002 a year for each $1,000 that buildings are worth.
Is radon a problem in Schreiber?
Around Schreiber, 108 survey homes were tested and 12% came in over 200 Bq/m³, a guide to the area, not to any one home.
How is Schreiber’s Hazard risk Grade worked out?
Schreiber grades A− for hazard risk, from earthquakes and radon, with wildfire counted only where it lowers the grade.
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).